Duels with the Negaverse
by RealHydros
Summary: Dreams of monsters dancing in the Sailor's heads lead them to Yugi Moto and Seto Kaiba. At the same time, Kaiba is setting up another Battle City tournament. When Queen Beryl, the Negaverse and an old enemy from Atem's past unite, the Sailors will have to enter the tournament to protect Domino City! SLIGHT AU, the only change is that Atem is not gone, but rather his own person.
1. Dueling Dreams

"WHOA!" Serena Tsukino shot up in bed. Her dream had been so vivid that the oncoming blast of lightning from the two-mouthed dragon in her dream had actually scared her back to the waking world. She'd never even SEEN such a creature before, despite having fought all manner of foul creatures in the ongoing struggle to keep evil at bay from the Earth.

"What the hell was that thing…?" Serena muttered as she glanced at her digital clock, which responded with a blaring red 3:32 AM. "Ugh," She muttered. Thank God the next day was Saturday. But going back to sleep was apparently not in the leader of the Sailor Scouts' future, as she felt a light weight land next to her. "…Get off, Luna," She said, trying to sound demanding through a fierce yawn.

Luna cocked her head. "What, to quote, 'the hell' was _what_, Serena?" She asked. Serena frowned, thought about ignoring the cat and going to bed, and finally decided that Luna would simply pester her until she got what she wanted anyway. Sitting up, she described her dream; the dragon, the man with the strange hair that commanded it and the lightning that had awoken her. "Serena, you know better than to brush something like that off as just a dream. Something that vivid and that odd…perhaps you could describe the creature to Amy tomorrow? She might be able to find it," Luna suggested.

"Will it get you off my case so I can sleep again?" Serena asked. Luna sighed and nodded. "Alright then. Good night," The moon princess said, laying down and taking a comfortable position under the covers.

"Good- oh, good grief," Luna sighed as Serena's snoring cut her off.

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"A red, two-mouthed dragon?" Amy quirked an eyebrow. Serena had made a beeline for her fellow Scout's home as soon as she'd woken up. "Seriously?" Serena narrowed her eyes and gave a short growl. "Ok, ok, fine, keep your pigtails on," The bluenette put her hands in front of her in a sign of peace. "Let's see what we can see," Amy said, pulling out her laptop computer and stretching her fingers. Serena winced as several bones snapped back into place.

"OK… two-mouthed dragon," Amy narrated her typing. Google Images loaded various pictures in front of her, many of the same thing. "Is this your card?" Amy joked as she opened a page up and turned the computer towards Serena. Sure enough, the dragon of Serena's dream was depicted on some sort of playing card. Her eyebrows raised in surprise and she nodded. "Let's see…" Amy said as she turned the screen back around. "According to this, the creature is called Slifer, The Sky Dragon. It, along with Obelisk The Tormentor and The Winged Dragon of Ra make up a trio of cards known as the "Egyptian God cards" in the game of Duel Monsters," She read. "Duel Monsters… that name sounds familiar," She noted.

Serena nodded. "A couple kids at school play it. It's a card game, except way more strategically involved I think," She said. Then she frowned. "So… a creature that exists in a game I've never even played appears in my dreams for no reason and blasts a lightning bolt at me?" She summarized. Amy shrugged. "Well. That doesn't seem odd at all. Things like this happen all the time," The Sailor Scout said, her voice dripping sarcasm.

Amy looked thoughtful. "I don't think that was exactly a dream, Serena. I'd wager it to be a message, a premonition," She said. Serena sighed. She knew Amy was right, there was no other explanation. She opened her mouth to respond when the front door opened.

"Lita? Hi," Serena waved at the Warrior of Lightning. To her surprise, the Scout practically ignored her and went straight to Amy.

"Good, you already have the computer booted. I need to you search 'blue eyed dragon' or something of the like for me," She said. Amy shrugged and complied. Again, a Duel Monsters card showed as the primary result.

"Does 'Blue-Eyes White Dragon' come close enough?" Amy said as she brought up a picture of the card. Lita nodded and opened her mouth, but Serena interrupted her.

"Wait, let me guess. You saw it in a dream last night?" She ventured. Lita looked surprised, but nodded. "Alright, now we _know _it wasn't a dream. Now we just have to figure out why all of a sudden Lita and I are-" She was cut off by the door opening again, this time admitting the remaining Inner Scouts.

"Amy, look up…uhm…guy in purple curvy suit. Something, I don't know. Maybe…" Mina trailed off. Amy looked up amusedly at the blonde, then looked back as her finger accidentally hit the track pad causing her browser to load another page. "THERE!" Mina cried. Amy peered at the screen.

"Dark Magician? Hm. It seems to be linked to the Blue-Eyes somehow, there was a transferring hyperlink to it," Amy said. Then she turned to Rei. "And so what did YOU see in your dream?" She asked. Rei blinked and looked around the room.

"Seriously? All of us had this same dream?" Rei asked. Serena nodded. "Well…I didn't see him," She said, pointing at Amy's computer. "I saw some huge… I don't even know. I saw maybe two seconds of a face only a mother could love before a fist the size of Hong Kong came flying at me," She said. Amy thought for a second.

_Hmm… so Lita and Mina had a dream about two monsters that are connected. Serena had a dream about one of these "God Cards"… _Amy's fingers flew across the keyboard, finally tapping the enter key. One more click and she was staring at the three Egyptian Gods. Amy smiled as Rei pointed to one of them. _Score one for logic_, She thought.

"That one is Obelisk the Tormentor," Amy read.

"Didn't you say that card was related to Slifer?" Serena asked. Amy nodded, then read the entire page.

"Well, this is certainly interesting," She said. All eyes turned to her. "Listen to this,"

She said, clearing her throat. " 'Slifer The Sky Dragon is a one-of-a-kind card, as are the other God Cards. Though the current whereabouts of The Winged Dragon of Ra is unknown, Slifer The Sky Dragon is currently in the possession of the current King of Games, Yugi Moto. In relation, Obelisk The Tormentor is owned by the man who is largely considered to be the most dangerous competition for Yugi's gaming title, the CEO of KaibaCorp Seto Kaiba.

In the first annual Battle City tournament, Yugi Moto won Slifer from a mysterious man named Strings, countering his infinite Revival Jam combination with a well-timed Brain Control after his primary strategies revolving around his signature card, the Dark Magician, failed,' " Amy finished. "And then, if we go back to the Dark Magician's page, that card is linked to the Blue-Eyes White Dragon's page. And guess who owns it?" She said.

"Kaiba?" Serena ventured. Amy nodded.

"Apparently, four copies of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon were ever printed. Seto Kaiba collected three of them, but in Duel Monsters one is only allowed three copies of any one card in their deck. Kaiba set out to destroy the fourth one so it would never be used against him, but it has ultimately remained in the possession of Solomon Moto," She read.

"So, to summarize so far: Everyone except Amy has had a dream concerning this 'Duel Monsters' Game. Mina and Serena dreamt of cards famously owned by the number one player, and Rei and I saw two similar cards owned by said player's best competition. Did I leave anything out?" Lita asked. Everyone shook their heads. " So why Amy? Why didn't she have the dream?"

"…I never said I didn't," Amy said. All eyes went to again. "I… had a similar dream. Not the exact same as yours, though. I dreamt that those four creatures were together, side by side. In front of them stood a… darkness, it's the best I know how to describe it. The attacks came fierce, but the monsters did no good against the force before them. An attack, some kind of energy wave was launched, but came up against a shining barrier. I woke up just as both sides geared up for round two…" She said.

"Far be it from me to have an idea that makes perfect sense, but it seems to me like we need to find this Yugi guy and see what he's all about," Serena finally said. The Scouts considered for a minute, then Lita finally spoke up.

"Y'know, she's right. Ain't that just the damndest thing?" She said. Serena stuck her tongue out briefly before Luna cleared her throat.

"If you are quite finished behaving like ten-year olds…" Luna let that hang in the air. "Serena is right. We've got to locate this boy and talk to him," She said. Amy nodded and went back to her computer.

"Well, that's not too far. He lives in Domino City. Not too far out, we can get there via car into a couple of hours," She said.

"Well, what're we waiting for then? Let's move," Lita said. Then she stopped. "Wait, what car exactly do we have access to?" She wondered aloud. Amy gave a rare grin, walked over to the kitchen table and picked up a set of keys.

"My parents are out for the week… they said I could use the car as long as I was careful and didn't leave the tank empty for them," She told her friends. Nodding in agreement, the Scouts headed out to the driveway, where a brilliant red Barchetta sat gleaming in the sun. "It'll be a tight fit… we might have to put Serena in the trunk," Amy teased as she opened the driver's door.

It took a bit of finagling, but the Scouts finally all piled into the car and they were off.


	2. A Whole New Card Game

As a public service from the Sailor Scouts, Sailor Moon presents: The Author's Note.

Serena: Hi, readers. Thanks for reading the first chapter and showing enough interest to keep going. Jesse (that's the author's name, of course) has decided to _slightly _re-write the ending to the first Yu-Gi-Oh series.

The canon ending in the Yu-Gi-Oh series was that Atem's soul was finally able to return after Yugi beat him in a Duel (because Yugi totally sacked by predicting freaking Monster Reborn in that chest thingy). HOWEVER, that sucks because he was an awesome guy and he shouldn't have had to leave. SO, Jesse has written that Atem returned to his own time, but quickly found that being in the modern world had changed him to the point that he felt like a stranger in his own time. Therefore, he handed the ruling duties over to the next in line (Jesse didn't feel like figuring out who got it) and Atem was able to get Shadi to transport Atem back to Yugi's time. Atem now has his own body, and he is approximately 20 years old. He regrouped with the old gang and now lives with Yugi, who he shares a room with at the game shop.

With that said and done, hope no one minds the change! Onward to the fic!

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"Slifer! Dark Magician! NO!" Atem cried. His two signature monsters stood side by side, having just attacked the dark force that loomed before them. To Yugi's side was his long-time rival, Seto Kaiba, who had attacked with Obelisk the Tormentor and Blue-Eyes White Dragon. All four strikes had failed, and now a dark blast was heading straight at them. Atem braced for impact when suddenly the blast met a barrier of pure light. Trying to gaze through the light, Atem barely made out five figures right in front of the barrier, which had reformed from a solid wall into a colossal crescent moon. The five figures turned around, revealing their faces…

Atem shot up out of bed. _All a dream…or so it would seem_, the former Pharoah thought to himself. Deep inside, he knew it was no ordinary dream. It had been a little too real. The five he'd seen… he saw just enough to know that they were females. And what had the crescent moon meant? Why was Kaiba, of all people at his side instead of Joey or even Tea? Joey had two signature cards in his Red-Eyes Black Dragon and Gearfried The Iron Knight. Was it because of Obelisk? Too many questions came from one dream for Atem to notice Yugi sitting up.

"Something wrong, bro?" Yugi asked. Though they were obviously not of blood relation, Atem had developed such a close bond with Yugi during his stay in the Puzzle that they shared the same bond. As such, when Atem had returned he took on Yugi's last name and assumed the role of Yugi's brother and Solomon's second grandson.

Atem started. "I didn't notice you'd woken up, Yugi," He said. He then recounted his dream to the young King of Games, whose face became one of intent listening and understanding. When Atem, was finished, he furrowed his brow.

"I don't know, Pharoah. I mean, we've fought our share of dark forces," He said, his mind jumping from the spirit of the Millenium Rod to Dartz and finally to Zorc. "It's the five girls that throws me off. I mean, the only girls we really know are Tea, Mai, Serenity and Rebecca. That's only four, and as far as I know none of them have anything to do with the moon," Yugi added. Atem nodded in agreement.

"Well, hopefully it _was _just a dream. And even if it wasn't, I'm sure that we can face any kind of malevolent force that comes our way, but let's deal with that if the time comes. Right now I think we both need to just go back to sleep," Yugi said with a laugh. Atem smiled and nodded as they both laid down, but even as sleep took him again the one-time ruler couldn't shake the bad feeling that something was about to shake things up around Domino.

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The day was perfect. Atem and Yugi were on their way to meet their usual crew of friends and head off to the movies. As usual, the pair were wearing similar clothing, though Atem had finally dropped the cape from his typical wear. As they made their way through the streets, they spotted two or three Duels being played, not unusual to see in Domino City these days. Neither was the person that challenged Atem, a man that Atem estimated to be in his 20's. People challenged Atem by mistake all the time, thinking he was the King of Games when in reality Yugi held that honor.

"Perhaps another time? I'm off to meet friends," Atem politely declined. He made to walk past the man, but the challenger held out an arm.

"We will duel now, _Pharoah_," He said. Atem took a step back and gave the man a once-over. Now that Atem stopped to feel for it, he could feel darkness exuding from his would-be opponent, whose red eyes stared into Atem's own. His blonde hair curled at the front and feathered down the rest of the way around his head. "I know who you are close to. I know who and what you love. And if you refuse this duel, I will personally see to the destruction of everything you hold dear, starting with _him_," He said, pointing at Yugi.

"…Who are you?" Atem asked. He was wary, but he would not back down. The man gave a dark smile that even the spirit of the Millenium Ring would frighten of, raising his left arm to activate a Duel Disk.

"You may call me Jaedite. You will put your God card and Dark Magician on the line for this duel," Jaedite said. It wasn't a question, just a matter-of-fact statement. The former Pharaoh laughed out loud.

"And just what makes you think I'd do that? What makes you think that I won't just brush you off as a nut who wants a piece of me?" He challenged. Jaedite smirked, raised his right hand and aimed it at Yugi. Bolts of black lightning struck the boy, and even as he was being raised into the air to be held by it Atem noticed that the city around them was disappearing. "Wait! Where are you taking us?" He shouted.

"Oh, just back to my place in the Negaverse," Jaedite said casually. "You put up your cards, I put up your friend and way home," He said. Atem growled, but nodded knowing it was his only option as he activated his own Disk.

_The Negaverse…? I've never heard of that before_, Atem thought, looking around. They stood in front of a huge castle, and when the one-time ruler looked around he noticed that everything around him was full of darkness and negative force.

"It's been a while since I last dueled evil, but I believe the saying goes…" Atem smiled slightly. "Let's DUEL!"

Atem: 8000

Jaedite: 8000

"Since you're the challenger, I'll start this off," Atem announced, drawing six cards._ Did you hear your names? _He thought as he looked his hand over. Both Slifer and Dark Magician were there, as if calling to be put into action. "I summon Big Shield Gardna in defense mode!" He said as a warrior with an enormous shield shimmered into play (100/2600). "Two cards face down ends my turn," He added.

"A formidable first round, Atem," Jaedite commented as he drew. "I'll start by playing One For One! By discarding one Monster card to the Graveyard, I now Summon one Level 1 Monster from my Deck! Come forth, Unknown Synchron!" He said, sliding a card into his Graveyard and placing another on the field. A spherical device with two antennae and one eye appeared, floating in mid air (0/0). Atem furrowed his brow.

_No attack or defense points? There must be some secret effect to it…_ Atem thought as he watched the sphere float.

"Next, I play the Spell card, Machine Duplication!" Jaedite announced. As he played the card, a factory production line appeared. "This card allows me to summon up to two of my Unknown Synchron from my Deck since it is a Machine with less than 500 ATK," He said. Two more Synchrons came down the line, each being put into play before the line vanished.

"And now, by sacrificing all three of these no-good scrap heaps, I summon this! Rise, Dark God! The Wicked Avatar!" Jaedite swept his three creatures off the field and slammed one onto his disk. From the shadows of the dimension surrounding them came a dark ball, which grew in size until it dwarfed either player. "For the next two of your turns, you may not activate Spells or Traps! But the real ability of the Avatar…" He said as the ball began to morph. Finally, it reshaped into the Big Shield Gardna, except it retained its immense size. "None of your monsters will be able to destroy it! Its ATK and DEF power are both always 100 points higher than the strongest monster you have! (200/2700)"

_A continually shifting ability that makes it stronger than anything I play? And I can't even use my Spell or Trap cards… At least he can't get to me for now, _Atem noted. "One face-down card ends my turn," Jaedite added. Atem looked down at his deck. _Heart of the cards… guide me_, He thought as he drew.


	3. The first Duel! Rise of the Wicked God!

"So this is Domino, huh? Looks pretty big," Lita commented. The Scouts had been combing the area for the Turtle Game Shop, where they had gathered from online information to be Yugi's residence. It took about half an hour of driving and direction-getting, but they finally found the place. It was actually quite small for being the dwelling of the King of Games, but looks were never everything. Serena pushed the door open, leading the girls into the shop. Behind a card-filled glass display counter stood an old man, dressed in overalls and a white shirt happily humming while he swept the floor. Upon hearing the bell on the door, he looked up.

"Good afternoon, ladies. Is there something I can help you with?" He asked kindly. Amy stepped forward and nodded.

"Yes, actually. You're Solomon Moto, correct?" She asked. Solomon nodded. "Would your son be here by chance?"

"Which one?" He asked with a chuckle. "No, they actually both left shortly to gather with friends. They really aren't looking to defend the King of Games title today, if that's what you're after," He added.

"Not so much, Mr. Moto. We needed to talk to him… any idea where they might be?" She asked. He nodded and smiled.

"I believe they would have traveled through the local park to get to the movie theater… perhaps you should follow their trail?" He suggested. Amy looked to her friends, nodded, and looked back to Solomon.

"I think we'll do that, then. Thank you, Mr. Moto," She said politely. With that the girls were off. Solomon glanced behind them as the doors closed.

"I have the strangest feeling that those girls are going to shake things up around here…" He muttered to himself.

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"Well, I may not be able to play Spell or Trap cards, but I can still play this! Skilled White Magician in Defense Mode (1700/1900)!" Atem said as he summoned a magician wearing white clothing. Jaedite smiled.

"In that case…" He said, gesturing to his monster. It took on its ball shape again, then morphed into a black mirror image of the mage (1800/2000). Atem growled.

"I end my turn," He announced. _As long my monsters have higher DEF than ATK, the Avatar can't destroy them. But the moment I try to go on the offensive, he'll always be able to strike down my monsters…_ He sighed as Jaedite drew.

"So…You thought playing defensive would shield you from God's wrath? I activate my face-down Final Attack Orders!" He smirked as the Continous Trap took effect. "While this card is active, not only are your monsters forced into Attack Mode, they are forced to attack every turn they can!" Atem's eyes widened. "Now, Avatar! Attack Big Shield Gardna with Darkness Infinity!" The dark copy of the mage suddenly changed, morphing and consuming the guardian before reshaping into the Skilled White Magician once more. "That's all," Jaedite smirked.

Atem: 6300

Jaedite: 8000

"But that means…Hm…" Atem thought aloud as he drew. "I end my turn," He said. Jaedite smiled..

"Not so fast, Atem. Final Attack Orders, go!" He said. Skilled White Magician became entranced and without order charged at the Avatar, being destroyed in the process.

Atem: 6200

Jaedite: 8000

"Right… I end my turn," Atem repeated. The Avatar reverted to its natural state (0/0) as Jaedite drew. _At least it can't damage me without a monster to copy… and on my next turn, my Spell and Trap cards will be online! Magic Cylinder ought to do the trick_, Atem thought.

"I'll draw, then set two cards and pass," Jaedite said.

"Fine! Draw!" Yugi looked at his draw, Skilled Dark Magician. "Alright, Jaedite! Prepare yourself! I Summon Skilled Dark Magician (1900/1700) to the field, then play Magical Dimension!" A sarcophagus appeared, drawing the newly-played magician in. "If I have a Spellcaster in play, I can use this card to sacrifice a monster and Summon a new Spellcaster in its place. Now, meet a new friend! Dark Magician, in Attack Mode (2500/2100).

"My Avatar never stops growing," Jaedite smiled. The Avatar rearranged again to form a much more imposing Dark Magician (2600/2200). Atem smiled.

"Magical Dimension, after Summoning, allows me to destroy a creature on your field. Begone, Avatar!" He said.

"I Chain Forbidden Lance! My Avatar will technically lose 800 ATK, although that will then be regained. More importantly, it makes my monster immune to Spell and Trap cards for the turn!" Atem growled. Now his Dark Magician was on the field, and who knew how Jaedite might dodge Magic Cylinders and obliterate his signature card? Slifer remained in his hand, but again Avatar would trump it even if Atem held all 39 other cards of his deck in his hand! "I end," He said.

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"What the…?" Serena trailed off as the group entered the park. The area was devoid of any life; even the birds and squirrels were gone. "What happened here…" The Moon Princess wondered as the Scouts made their way through the park, surrounded by nothing but trees and eerie silence.

"Don't know, but I'd bet _that _has something to with it," Mina pointed dead ahead. Everyone looked up and saw the obvious object of question; a large, spiraling black vortex hanging in the air.

Amy nodded. "Mercury Prism Power!" She called, transforming to Scout form. She pulled down her scanner and nodded. "Yep. Huge amounts of nega-power flowing from it. And it's still active," She confirmed.

"Do you think Yugi might've been pulled in…?" Lita wondered. Serena frowned as the team all looked to their leader. She thought for a minute, sighed and made a decision.

"Yugi or not, we have to check out any Negaverse activity. I say we transform, get in there and see what's up. Moon Prism Power!" Serena finished, transforming into Sailor Moon.

"Mars Power!"

"Venus Power!"

"Jupiter Power!"

In a moment's time, the Sailor Scouts stood before the portal. "Alright, let's go. Everyone, be careful," Serena warned.

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_Come on, bro, you've pulled out of tighter before_, Yugi thought from his position in the air overlooking the duel. Certainly Atem was at a disadvantage, but he'd gone against all three of the Egyptian God Cards and pulled through the challenges they'd presented. Yugi was about to voice his encouragement when a portal opened a couple of yards behind Jaedite. He thought about warning Atem, but something inside told him that the five girls stepping through the portal were not his or Atem's enemy. He furrowed his brows and made eye contact with the one whose pigtails seemed to go on for miles, which caused her eyes to widen as she saw the restraints on him.

"I…" Atem stopped cold at the sight of the girls that Yugi had seen. The girl with the blue hair put a finger to her lips and Atem gave a very slight nod. He already knew who they were, or at least what they were. "I draw!" He said with a new confidence. _Wait… Final Attack Orders affects his monsters too… _He thought as he looked at the Absolute End card he'd drawn. He smiled. He had the way to destroy Jaedite… "I'll place this card face-down and end my turn," He said. Jaedite sighed, bored as he drew. "Avatar, you know the drill," He said. The Avatar rushed forward, obliterating Yugi's Dark Magician. The Avatar's ATK/DEF returned to normal as Jaedite ended his turn.

Atem: 6700

Jaedite: 8000

"I'll Set a monster and end," Atem said, drawing and Setting Marshmallon.

"Attack it," Jaedite told the Avatar. Once again, the darkness consumed the monster, but this time when the fog cleared, the creature still stood. From their place in the spectator's booth, the Scouts all raised an eyebrow.

"What is that, a pudding monster?" Serena whispered. The other girls had to fight down giggles at this comment while Amy urged everyone to shut up.

"Marshmallon cannot be destroyed by battle, Jaedite! Let's see you win now!" Atem challenged. Jaedite rose an eyebrow and pointed at Marshmallon.

"You are remembering that my Trap forces it to attack, right?" He asked. Atem's face fell as he realized that bit of news. Jaedite was about to say something else when Marshmallon suddenly bared fangs and leapt at the Negaverse captain. "What the- OW!" He yelped as it bit him on the arm.

Atem: 6600

Jaedite:7000

"Marshmallon, when flipped by battle, deals 1000 damage to the person stupid enough to assault it," Atem smirked as Jaedite rubbed the spot where Marshmallon had clamped down. The Avatar reshaped again as Jaedite growled (400/600).

"Fine. Your move!" He declared. Atem looked at his deck and closed his eyes.

_Guide me_, He thought.


	4. Ruling the Duel

"Shouldn't we be attacking Jaedite?" Lita whispered as the duel raged. Serena shook her head.

"Not yet. Jaedite and the rest of the Negaverse need to know just what they're getting themselves into, messing with Yugi," She whispered back. Amy nodded.

"It's a good tactical move. The Negaverse may well move on to another plan once Yugi defeats Jaedite here. Or, even if they don't it will be some time before they can match Yugi's power, if Jaedite is to be an example of the Negaverse's dueling strength. Plus, I think the boy's life is in the balance of this game," Amy said, gesturing to Yugi suspended in the air. "Interrupting could prove fatal."

"So we just wait and let a perfect opportunity to whack Jaedite in the head go to waste?" Rei muttered. Mina sighed at her feisty companion's fighting spirit.

"It's not always about kicking ass the moment you can, Rei," She told her friend. Rei frowned, but turned her attention back to the match as Atem drew.

Atem smiled when he saw his card. "I play Card of Sanctity to replenish our hands to 6 cards," He said, drawing a number of cards. "Next, I'll play Spell Sanctuary! This card will give all Spell Cards the quickplay speed as well as give each of us a Spell from our Graveyards," He said. "I now activate Monster Reborn! Return, Dark Magician!" The Dark Magician rose from the Grave, forced into ATK mode (2500/2100).

Jaedite smiled. "Fool! God's strength will not be outclassed!" The avatar morphed again (2600/2200). Atem smiled.

"I'll equip two of my Magic Formula cards to my Magician, increasing its ATK by 1400 points!" He declared. Two books appeared in the Dark Magician's hands, glowing as the words flew from the page and powered his staff (3900/2100). Jaedite shook his head.

"Still not enough," He said as his Avatar grew (4000/2200).

"I'll Set two cards face-down, ending my turn," Atem finished. Jaedite smirked and looked at Marshmallon.

"Avatar! Unleash the fury Atem has so kindly given you on his Marshmallon! Enhanced Shadow Consuming!" He yelled. The blackness started toward Atem, who smirked.

"Hold! Before you attack, I activate the Trap Card Absolute End! For the duration of this turn, any attack you make must come to me, regardless of my monsters," He said. Jaedite and, unknown to him the Scouts behind him all raised an eyebrow.

"Uhm… Wouldn't he take like, a bunch of damage if Avatar smacked him direct?" Serena whispered. Amy nodded, furrowing her brows as she remembered what she'd read about the game. Indeed, Atem was already almost a quarter of the way through his Life Points. 4000 damage would be a HUGE hit.

"Fine then. Be the martyr. Attack Atem directly!" Jaedite shrugged. The darkness changed course and stormed toward the former Pharoah, who was still smiling.

"I'm Chaining to my Absolute End with a Spell Card known as Pump Up!" He said. Jaedite sighed again.

"How many times must I tell you? You will never overpower the evil of my God," He said with a laugh. Atem laughed right back, surprising Jaedite. "What's so funny?" He demanded.

"Who ever said I was strengthening my card? I'm doubling The Wicked Avatar's attack power!" He declared. The Avatar grew to an even bigger size as its attack came (7800/2100).

"Ah. You want this over with. Understandable, I suppose. End this, Avatar!" Amy hung her head on the sidelines as Jaedite triumphantly called his attack.

"He was toast, I suppose," She said quietly to herself. Serena nodded. _Best to go out fighting than surrender…_ Amy thought.

"I activate the Magic Cylinders Trap!" Amy, the only Scout who had actually studied some of the more commonly used cards of the game, about had a heart attack as her jaw dropped to the floor. The others looked at her strangely as she started laughing, catching the attention of Jaedite.

"You are so about to get your butt kicked," Amy managed out uncharacteristically as the Scouts and Jaedite stared. Jaedite stared at Serena for a minute, who shrugged. He shook his head in a "I'll deal with you in a minute" manner and turned back to Atem.

"What the hell is a Magic Cylinder?" He demanded. Atem smirked again.

"It's a trap card, one only useable when a monster attacks me. It not only negates your monster's attack, but, well… see for yourself," He gestured to the Cylinders as they rose before Marshmallon. The dark attack went in one tube and shot back out at Jaedite, whose eyes bugged out.

"CHAIN! Forbidden Lance stops Avatar from being affected!" He cried frantically.

"I use my remaining reverse card, Magic Jammer, and discard the one card left in my hand, Slifer The Sky Dragon in order to negate your Spell," Atem countered, sliding Slifer into the Graveyard. Jaedite was blown back from the force of the attack and landed flat on his back with a groan.

Atem: 6600

Jaedite: 0

"They are not going to like this…" Jaedite moaned as the field vanished. In an instant, before the Sailor Scouts could begin to attack, Atem bull-rushed his former opponent, grabbed him by the lapels and lifted him off the ground, his face contorted in anger.

"Who is "they"? Whoever you work for, give them a warning, from the Ancient Pharoah of Egypt; do not touch Yugi again! If you have a problem with me, fine. Your masters can take it up with _me_. Do not use my brother as a bargaining chip again," He growled before throwing the blond to the ground.

"You _would _like to know just who you're dealing with, wouldn't you? Don't worry, _Pharoah_, you will soon enough see just what sort of power you're messing with. And as for you brats," Jaedite brushed himself off and whipped around to face the Scouts. "I will deal with you at my convenience, for I currently have business to attend to," He said. With that, another rip in the dimension opened behind him, and he stepped back through it before the Scouts could get a weapon on him.

"Cocky jerk," Serena growled as the rip closed, leaving only the portal to the park remaining. She looked up to see Atem furrowing his brows at the sky. Following his gaze, she realized that the boy was still suspended via those black energy bands.

"I've got this. Flame Mandela!" Rei lifted her arms, summoning two flaming disks that she then threw toward the bound boy. Atem opened his mouth to cry out, but rather than strike Yugi the disks veered away, instead neatly cutting through the wrist restraints before rebounding and slicing away the ankle bands before returning to Rei and vanishing.

"Uh…thanks," Yugi said uncertainly as he landed. An awkward silence followed as five girls stared at two boys standing in a dimension none their own. "So… I'm Yugi. Who're you?"

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	5. Kaiba's Call

"Amy," Atem began, pointing at the bluenette.. They had traveled back to the park and headed to the game shop, where the five Scouts, Yugi, and Atem sat in the lounge. "Rei, Lita, Mina, Serena and Luna?" He moved his finger from one to the other, each of whom nodded. "I thank you for rescuing Yugi," He said.

"Not a problem," Rei replied. "But… I always thought YOU were Yugi? Every picture we found of you during the Battle City and Grand Prix tournaments listed you under his name," She said. Atem smiled and nodded.

"Back then was a little more… complicated," He said. He then explained the Shadow Games, the Millenium Items and the basics of their adventures. By the time he was done, the girls were stunned by the awesome tale.

"Damn…that's amazing," Lita said. She opened her mouth to speak again, but an odd noise from Atem's pocket interrupted. He reached in and pulled out a cell phone, which was emitting an odd sound. "Ring tone?" She asked. Yugi nodded.

"It's the sound of a card being Summoned on a duel disk," he whispered as Atem greeted the caller.

"Well, you certainly are the last person I'd expect to call this number," Atem said gamely. On the other end, Seto Kaiba rolled his eyes and sighed. Atem mouthed the word "Kaiba" to Yugi, who raised an eyebrow.

"Look, Aheem-"

"Atem," He corrected for the umpteenth billionth time.

"Atem. I didn't call for a personal friendly chat. I'm busy on a certain project. That's actually why I'm calling," Kaiba began cryptically. Atem rose an eyebrow.

"Do tell, Kaiba-boy," Atem said, grinning as he used the name he knew Seto absolutely hated.

Seto growled and ignored him. "I'm organizing another city-wide tournament. Whether it's going under the Battle City name or not is still a work in progress, but it will definitely be similar. I'm calling the world's top five duelists, besides myself of course, in advance so they can plan for it accordingly," He told his rival. Atem chuckled.

"So, have you called number three yet?" He asked. Number three, with top showings in both Duelist Kingdom and Battle City, was of course the one player Kaiba would rarely acknowledge as being in the top; Joey Wheeler.

"He…is my next call. Shut up," Kaiba ground out. He was dreading that call, but like it or not by Kaiba's statistics Joey Wheeler was the number three best duelist in the world. "There's a reason I called you first; I wasn't planning on calling in order, but you seem to be the expert on weird crap so here goes. Some strange people were asking me yesterday about any upcoming tournaments. All I told them was that one was in the works, but I could tell there was something… not right about them. I mean, one of 'em had red eyes and some sort of queen thing getup on, looked like she was going to a Renaissance fair or something," He said. Serena happened to overhear that description and froze.

"You gotta be…" She muttered. The other Scouts were equally stunned, and Atem noticed it.

"Alright, Seto. I'll keep my eyes peeled for anyone trying to sabotage your tournament for the millionth time," He said seriously. Seto let out a frustrated sigh and hung up. "Well. Goodbye to you too," Atem said as he pocketed the phone. "I'm guessing, Serena, that you know someone by that particular look?" He asked. She nodded.

"Sounds like Queen Beryl. Pure evil, lives in a place called the Negaverse. She uses her minions, like the guy Jaedite you dueled, to gather energy with which to revive Queen Metalia. Thing is, I thought we got rid of her… for that matter, come to think of it, I thought Jaedite was in eternal sleep," she added.

"So. Enemies of yours that apparently either have a beef or a use with or for Atem and I are entering a Duel Monsters tournament that we'll be entering? Sounds like the usual for us, Atem," Yugi deadpanned.

"Well, they're our enemies. We can keep watch, maybe… or… there is another solution," Amy added. All eyes were on her. "I… studied this game of yours briefly; that's why I thought the Magic Cylinders trick was funny. We could… well, we could learn this "Duel Monsters" game of yours, if you'd teach us. It seems to me that they're trying to Duel their way through this plan of theirs, and if so we could fight them at their level," She finished.

"Learn this card game?" Lita echoed.

"It could be fun, I guess," Mina said.

"I saw monsters and magic. I'm in," Rei said.

"I think Amy's right. We need to be able to play this game and enter this tournament," Serena said finally. She looked to Atem. "Do you think you can teach us?" She asked. Yugi grinned.

"You're talking to the top duelists in the world, Serena. I think we can manage a couple Duel Monsters 101," He said with a laugh. He motioned for everyone to follow and exited to the downstairs area, where he promptly began to launch into an explanation of the game, showing them various cards, explaining rules, explaining rules again because Serena got confused, and finally showing them his deck to give them an example of how a deck could be built.

"Alright…" Serena said once everyone had finally gotten all of the information processed and straightened out. "Who brought money?" She asked, looking around. It turned out that apparently no one had been planning on staying in Domino more than a day, as they had little more than lunch money on them. Serena face-palmed and Solomon, who'd been listening to the whole thing, chuckled.

"I think the shop can afford to sponsor a few young ladies," He suggested. Serena cocked her head, not sure what the old man meant.

"He means he'll let us borrow cards from his shop for a while," Amy translated for her friend. Serena's mouth formed an "o" of understanding. Yugi frowned for a second, looking around at the shop's card supplies. Then he smiled.

"You mean…?" He trailed off as his grandfather nodded. Not long after Yugi and Atem had beaten Duke Devlin at the Dungeon Dice Monsters game, Devlin's gaming store had made a merger deal with Solomon's quaint shop, allowing both of them access to a great deal of cards that neither would have had separately. An entire separate building of storage had to be built onto Duke's complex to hold their supply, which was where Solomon intended to take the new duelists.

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"Jaedite's attempt failed. I thought you said the Dark God was infallible," A woman's harsh voice came from behind the man with a smirk on his face, who currently had his face turned toward a computer. The two of them were both in the small apartment flat that was rented out in her name.

"A Deck and a card can only be wielded to their full extent by a strong duelist," the man replied without even looking up. "It's not my fault that Jaedite ran headlong into things without being prepared, Neflite," He added.

"OK, fine.. We practice and grow stronger before this next tournament picks up. By the way, Jaedite brings news of the Sailor brats being in Domino City. We do not know why, but they are more obstacles in our way," Neflite added.

"And this is a concern?" A new voice came from the next room. The door opened and out stepped Queen Beryl.

"Good. You finally got out of that gaudy queen's robe. Zorc's sake, you've probably attracted Yugi's attention already wandering around like that," The man finally looked up from the computer, his long white hair contrasting starkly with the tan skin of his grinning face.

"Rather rich coming from you, Bakura. Coming from the man who was wearing what could have been for a tablecloth as a robe when we found you, nearly powerless and dead?" Beryl asked, ever so slightly amused.

"Fair enough, I suppose," the Thief King replied, looking Beryl's new red, sleeveless top and denim jeans ensemble up and down. "So, Neflite, back to point. Yes, you all need to practice and grow. I taught you this game and gave a sacrifice of a large amount of life energy to bring back your queen. Which," He added, shooting Beryl a glance, "would be the reason I was 'nearly powerless,' thank you very much. In any case, I will not tolerate failure due to incompetency," He stated calmly.

Beryl narrowed her eyes. "I may be in your debt, but you will not talk to us as servants. We are equals in this endeavor, and will all be treated as such. You will show us the respect we show you despite your obvious repeated failures to defeat the Pharoah on your own power," She said sharply. The two evil entities stared one another down until Bakura smiled.

"Good. You have some fire in you. I like that in my partners. May I suggest that you go and duel Neflite? You could both use the practice," He added.

"A razor cannot be sharpened on velvet, Bakura. Perhaps I should duel you instead," Beryl shot back. Bakura chuckled and nodded.

"As you wish," He said, tossing Beryl one of the Duel Disks he'd bought from KaibaCorp. It was an older model, but it would do fine for the moment until they got newer ones in the tournament.

"DUEL!"


	6. Dark Duel Stories

"Alright, ladies first," Bakura (8000) said, drawing five cards. Beryl (8000) did the same, nodded and drew a sixth. _This should be interesting… I haven't seen what she built yet_, Bakura thought.

"I'll start by playing…" Beryl's eyes shifted through her cards. She was still new to this game, and did not want to make a foolish mistake against Bakura. "Valhalla, Hall of the Fallen! With it on the field, since I have no monsters, I can put a Fairy onto the field as a Special Summon! Dark Asmodeus, in Attack Mode (3000/2500)!" She declared. And angel sporting black and blue wings and a long robe rose to the field. "I'll set two cards, play a monster in Defense Mode and end my turn," She added.

"Impressive…" Bakura said as he drew. "I myself will play the Spell card Dark World Dealings! We will each draw and discard one card." He drew his card and viewed his hand. "I discard Broww, Huntsman of Dark World. And when he is discarded, I draw another card by his effect," He added as he drew again. Beryl drew and quickly discarded, which concerned Bakura slightly.

"Alright, then. If that didn't faze you, let's see you deal with this! I take you before the Gates of Dark World!" He exclaimed, sliding the Field Spell into his Disk. The apartment walls disappeared, replaced instead by the aptly named gates to the Dark World. Beryl looked around, steeling herself against the intimidation creeping up on her. From her spot in the "stands", Neflite smirked at her queen's expression.

"I now Banish my Broww via the Gates' effect, in order to-"

"I'll activate my Mystical Space Typhoon Spell to destroy your Gates!" Beryl interrupted. Bakura growled as he was forced to put the card into the Graveyard. Beryl grinned at the dark look that crossed his face.

"I think it's time for another Dark World Dealings," He said. "And this time I will discard Grapha, Dragon Lord of the Underworld! With his effect activated by discard, I will destroy your Darklord Asmodeus!" He said. A blast of dark energy shot from Bakura's Graveyard and destroyed Beryl's monster. "Now that the coast is c- what?"

"My Darklord won't be so easily rid of. When he is destroyed, he simply splits into his Asmo and Deus halves," Beryl told him. Indeed, the beam had cut the angel in two where the torso met the white robe. The robe extended out, revealing itself to not be a robe at all but rather the wings of a smaller angel. The two angels set themselves next to each other (Asmo 1800/1200) (Deus 1200/1300).

"Alright then… I'll place this monster face-down, one other face-down, and your move," Bakura said. _Let the games begin_, he thought.

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"OK. Did everyone put together what they wanted?" Serena asked. Solomon had taken the girls into the card storage area, where a vast selection of cards in multiple quantities had been available. Kaiba, whether too busy to go himself or simply not wanting to make the visit personally, had sent Mokuba over with several of the latest-model Duel Disks. Mokuba had added that there was a spare one for Joey as well before taking off, so that one had been tucked away in the shop.

"I believe I saw everyone ready to go," Luna confirmed. Serena nodded her head, then turned to Atem and Yugi.

"D'ya that we should maybe, y'know, practice or something before we get into this whole tournament thing?" She asked. Atem nodded.

"Sounds like a good idea. Let me go get my deck," Atem turned away and made to go grab his cards from his room, smiling the moment his back was turned. Everyone else looked at Serena, grinning and waiting for her to freak at the thought of going toe to toe with Atem. What happened next shocked everyone.

"Alright. Let's see what you've got," She said. Atem about faceplanted, and everyone else just stared. Atem had NOT been expecting anything other than "Whoa, I said practice, not slaughter."

"Alright then," He said, recovering quickly with a smile growing on his face. Five minutes later, the seasoned vet and Sailor Moon were standing across from each other outside the warehouse, Disks activated and Life Point readouts online.

"Hot dogs, come get your hot dogs," Serena turned, looked to her left and sweat dropped. Everyone had gotten lawn chairs from who knows where and were currently grabbing hot dogs off of the plate Mina had.

"Alright, ladies first," Atem motioned for Serena to begin. She nodded and drew.

"I'll start this off by playing Gladiator Beast Equeste!" She declared as an armored horse appeared (1600/1200). "And I'll Special Summon Test Tiger!" She added. Atem was surprised; this was only her first duel and she already seemed to be playing like a pro.

"Very good. I see you picked this game up quickly, quite the natural," Solomon complimented from the sidelines.. Serena smiled and nodded a "thanks" his way.

"Yeah, go figure. She can't grasp basic geometry or tell ya who the first president was, but by God you give her a Duel Monsters deck and she'll be beating the world champs before you know it," Lita said dryly. Serena stuck her tongue out.

"Test Tiger can be Special Summoned if there's a Gladiator Beast on my side," She explained. "Just like the Sailor Scouts all work together, so do the Gladiator Beasts. And incidentally, they both use cats to help 'em out at times," She grinned at Luna, who cocked an eyebrow at the tiger. "Now, with Test Tiger on the field I can return my Gladiator Beast Equeste to my hand at the cost of Tributing my Tiger," She said, placing Test Tiger in the Graveyard.

"So… You're going to take your own monster out of the battle? Monsters are vital to protecting your Life Points, Serena. Yugi went over that," Mina asked from the sidelines. A voice from behind her made her fall out of her chair.

"Nah. I've seen deese guys before, dat card's got a whole 'nother effect," He said. Mina looked up to see a man about her age with blond hair, a green jacket and a smile on his face. "Name's Joey, didn't mean to scare ya," He apologized as he helped the girl up. "Sweet, looks like this one just started. Yugi told me there were some new duelists in town," He added.

"Hello, Joey," Atem smiled at the sight of his close friend. "And you, Tea, Tristan," He added as his other friends followed in tow. "I believe you were resolving your card, Serena?" He said.

"Right. Since I returned Equeste, I get to Special Summon a different Gladiator Beast from my Deck! I Summon Gladiator Beast Secutor!" A small lizard rose to the field, bearing cannons on its shoulders (400/300). "I place three cards down, ending my turn."

"So… she replaced a bigger monster with a smaller one? Logic," Rei commented. Joey grinned. He knew about these cards; he'd considered using them and had actually played around with Kaiba's online duel simulator with them. He was pretty sure he knew exactly what was up.

"I draw. Ah, good! I activate the Dark Magic Curtain card! By paying half of my Life Points (8000 / 2 = 4000) while this card is on the field, I may play my Dark Magician straight from the Deck (2500/2100)!" Atem said. "Next, I'll activate the Spell card Dark Magic Attack! It's only playable while the Dark Magician is on my side, but it will destroy all of your Spell and Trap cards," He told Serena. The Dark Magician's staff began to glow before firing off a blast. "Without any cards to prote- huh?" Atem had a good reason to be confused; an enormous, shining white beam had erupted before Serena. The light washed away, revealing a white dragon who took the Dark Magic Attack with no problems before flying to Secutor's side.

"You tried to destroy multiple cards on my field, which triggered the Trap known as Starlight Road!" Serena explained. Solomon's eyes widened slightly as he realized he'd made a mistake.

"Er… Serena, that card technically isn't supposed to be released yet. I really should have put that new stuff away… Oh well, it will be legal for the new tournament, so I suppose it's not a big deal," He said with a sheepish chuckle. Serena sweat-dropped and Atem cocked his head. It was a Trap card, yet she had a new monster? And one that felt he'd seen before, but couldn't quite place. Where…?

"Oh. Sorry… anyway, Starlight Road negates that destruction ability and then allows me to Special Summon a Stardust Dragon from my, uhm… Oh, yeah! Extra Deck (2500/2000!)" She remembered. Atem's eyes shot open as memories rushed in.

"_Stardust Dragon, attack now!" _

"_I activate Neos Spiral Force!"_

"_And I'll play Dark Spiral Force!"_

_Yusei… that's right! So, Synchro Monsters are part of the game now? Interesting… _Atem thought to himself. "Alright then! I'll attack your Secutor now and deal with the Dragon later! Dark Magic Attack!" He declared. The magician struck again, but this time was stopped by three women in blue robes chanting a spell. THAT card he knew. "The Waboku card?" He wondered why she would protect such a weak monster.

"Yep! And I think you know what it does," She said. The other Scouts looked to Yugi.

"It basically protects her and her monsters from other monsters," He said.

"Alright then, I'll place one card face-down and end my turn," Atem said.

"Hold your horses, Atem. Your Dark Magician, successful or not, did battle with my Secutor. That means his effect activates! I get to Summon two more Gladiators from my Deck! I'll bring out Gladiator Beasts Murmillo (800/400) and Bestiari (1500/800)! And since they were brought out by a Gladiator Beast, they activate their effects! Gladiator Beast Murmillo destroys one monster on the field," She said. Murmillo, an odd-looking seahorse creature bearing a cannon on its left shoulder, opened fire on the Dark Magician, who was vanquished.

"Now, since you couldn't have Set that card until after Bestiari had come out, I can't destroy it, but usually he would destroy a Spell or Trap that you control," She added. The winged warrior, who appeared to be bearing wrist-mounted guns, was still ready for battle.

"Jeez! It wasn't even her turn and she has three new monsters out!" Tristan said.

"In that, I will also Set a monster and one other card before I end my turn," Atem amended.

Serena nodded and drew. "Alright, Atem, hold on to your bangs 'cause here I come!"


	7. Dual Duel Resolutions

"Alright, Bakura! I'll first play Pot of Greed to draw two cards, then I'll play the Armageddon Knight in Attack Mode (1400/1200)!" Beryl, having more cards on the field and just stopped one of Bakura's big plays, was now feeling and sounding much more confident. "When he's played, I can place a Dark Monster from my Deck into my Graveyard. I choose Darklord Superbia," She explained. "Then I Flip Summon Meltiel, Sage of the Sky (1600/1200)! Finally, I shall play my own Field Spell, The Sanctuary in the Sky, Set a card and end my turn," She said. The room again disappeared, this time being transformed into pretty much the polar opposite of Bakura's Field.

_Angels versus devils… this will be fun to watch_, Neflite mused. Bakura did not look amused to be in the position he was in as he drew.

"Fine! I flip the Morphing Jar card (700/600)! We both-"

"Do nothing, due to my Divine Punishment card," Beryl interrupted calmly. A rain of brimstone showered on the Jar, shattering it. "And since a Counter Trap went off, Meltiel gives me an additional 1000 Life Points (8000 9000)! In addition, since my Field is in play, Meltiel will obliterate one card you control," She said. Bakura ground his teeth.

"Blasted angels… I Chain my Gateway to Dark World! By giving up my ability to Summon otherwise for the remainder of the turn, I may Special Summon a Dark World monster from my Graveyard. Grapha, in Attack Mode (2700/1800)!" He shouted as the dragon rose. Beryl's eyes widened at the sight of the behemoth. "Now, Grapha! Destroy Meltiel before it can do any more harm!"

Beryl could only watch as her angel was obliterated. She smiled at the look on Bakura's face when he noticed she'd taken no damage. "In case you were wondering, I don't take Battle Damage from battles involving my Fairy monsters when my Field is up," She explained. Bakura developed a facial tic.

"Two cards facedown and the Dark Door, your turn," He ground out. A doorway appeared before him as he passed.

"Before your turn is over, I activate the Call of the Haunted trap, which-"

"I know what it does, Beryl. Have you forgotten that I am a master of undead strategy?"

"Fine then. I revive Darklord Superbia (2900/2400)! And since you know all about these sorts of cards, I'm sure you know what it does," She shot back. Bakura frowned.

"I said necromancy, not Fairies. I have no idea what that winged cauldron does," He snapped. She smirked.

"Well, for your information, when it is Summoned from the Graveyard it can bring another Fairy with it!" She said. Bakura snorted.

"The only Fairy in your Graveyard is Darklord Asmodeus, and it cannot be Special Summoned from the Deck or Graveyard," He reminded her.

"Oh, I did forget to thank you earlier for your Dark World Dealings," She replied. Bakura snarled as he remembered the all-too quick discard she'd made. "I Summon Darklord Zerato(2800/2300!" She declared. A red-winged devil of an angel rose from Superbia's "cauldron" and pointed its sword squarely at Bakura, who growled in response.

"Now I'll draw!" Beryl announced. Bakura looked over at Beryl, wondering how the hell he'd gotten into this mess. She had five monsters: Darklord Zerato (2800/2300), Darklord Superbia (2900/2400), Armageddon Knight (1400/1200), and her Asmo (1800/1200) and Deus (1200/1300) tokens! AND still had two cards in her hand! For Zorc's sake, the only other competition she'd participated in was on Dueling Network!

"Those face-down cards are quite the threat, Thief King," Beryl commented. Bakura's face didn't give; indeed, his Dark Spirit of the Silent worked well with the Dark Door, as only one of her monsters would attack at a time. And the other card…

"I activate Darklord Zerato's ability, discarding one Dark monster to do so. In exchange, I wipe out all monsters you control," Beryl said.

"WHAT?!" Bakura was furious as Grapha was sliced in twine by her Zerato's sword. "What kind of _neik_ing _louteh _shit is this?!" He went off. Beryl and Neflite both raised an eyebrow. Bakura took a moment, calmed himself and took a breath. "I apologize. Continue," He said.

"Moving on… I'll attack with Darkord Superbia!" Beryl declared.

"I activate Dark Spirit of the Silent! Whenever a monster attacks, this spirit will stop its attack and possess another to strike instead, switching its position if it must! Deus Token will instead attack!" He responded (8000 6800). "And since my Dark Door is active, you cannot attack again," He said. Beryl motioned with her hand to end the turn, which caused Zerato's negative effect to kick in and destroy it.

"Draw! I'll play Ceruli, Guru of Dark World in Defense Mode (100/300). I also place another card face-down and pass," He said with a wicked smile. Beryl drew and opened her mouth, but Bakura got there first.

"I activate Crush Card Virus! By sacrificing one monster with 1000 or less ATK, I will infect your entire side of the playing area with a virus that automatically decimates all monsters with ATK power 1500 or greater, including in your hand and any you draw for three turns!" Beryl's eyes widened. She discarded Archlord Krystia from her hand, while Superbia was blasted off the field. "…Why isn't Asmo dead?" Bakura asked.

"He can't be killed by card effects, Mr. Duel Expert," Beryl replied. Bakura smiled and nodded.

"Fine then. I draw! I'll play my final Dark World Dealings!" Bakura said. He smiled as he drew and discarded Broww. "And now another from Broww," He added. "Then another Gateway to play Grapha back!" He said. "I attack Asmo!" The Dragon unleashed an energy blast that annihilated the token (Beryl: 9000 8100). "One card face-down, your move," He finished.

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"Well, someone sure is freakin' confident," Lita commented as Serena drew.

"I'll perform a Fusion!" Serena declared. Atem blinked and scanned the field. _No Field Spell like Fusion Gate… She hasn't played Polymerization or another fusing card, either. How…?_

"I saw these cards in the case and remembered what you said about letting your Deck reflect yourself. This one is all about teamwork, something I've had to learn ever since I became a Scout. And this Fusion is no different; two monsters work together to achieve a greater cause! By returning Gladiator Beast Bestiari and any one other Gladiator Beast, in this case Murmillo, I can Fusion Summon Gladiator Beast Gyzarus!"

"I play the Horn of Heaven! I must sacrifice my Beta, the Magnet Warrior to do so, but in return I blast the Horn's celestial tune right at your Gyzarus, negating the Summon!" Atem responded.

"No!" Serena cried as her new monster was blown apart by the sound of the holy instrument. "Fine! I still have Secutor, who I'll equip with Gladiator Beast's Battle Halberd! When Secutor attacks, you'll lose one of your Spell or Trap cards! But that's not all! I'm also going to ensure his attack goes through with the Gladiator Beast's Archfiend Shield, which will protect him from one destruction effect. I attack!" Secutor rushed forward, but Atem was ready.

"I'll activate the Spellbinding Circle! This freezes your monster, rendering it unable to attack or change positions," He said. Serena nodded and passed.

"Alright… I'll play the Monster Reborn spell to revive the Dark Magician!" Atem began. _Her Gladiator can't attack, but no matter how I try to destroy it she'll protect it. A smart move, not attacking with Stardust Dragon… keeping it safe. _Atem marveled at just how much skill the new player was showing. "That ends my turn," He said.

"Dang. You don't see Atem on the ropes like dis very often," Joey commented.

"Alright! I'll Set this and end!" Serena said.

"Mmm… I'll pass for now," Atem said after he drew.

"Excellent," Serena said as she drew. "I'll activate the Trap Stun card, which will negate all Traps for a turn," She began. The spell ring flickered and faded around Secutor. "Then I attack!" Secutor rose and ran at the Dark Magician, raising the Archfiend Shield to protect itself from the counter strike (8000 5900). "Then Battle Halberd will destroy a Spell or Trap," She continued as Secutor threw his axe at Yugi's Soul Rope. "Finally, Secutor will Summon Murmillo and Laquari (1800/300) from the Deck!" The blue seahorse and a new flaming lizard entered the Field. "Laquari will gain 300 ATK from his own effect (1800/300 2100/300) and Murmillo will destroy Dark Magician! Then I perform another Fusion Summon!"

"Oh no! I can't stop it this time!" Atem realizd. Serena smiled dangerously.

"I'll return Secutor, Murmillo and Laquari to the Deck…" Serena said. Joey whistled low from the sidelines. "And summon Gladiator Beast Heraklinos (3000/2800) in Attack mode!" A muscular warrior dressed in battle gear with a huge sword and shield rose. "Finally, I'll play Fusion Reload! I choose one Fusion monster on the field, halve its Level rounding down, then draw that many cards!" Serena drew four cards. "Pass turn" She finished.

"3000 points… I draw! And now I'll again activate my Dark Magic Curtain (4000 2000), this time to Summon the Dark Magician Girl (2000/1700) in Attack mode! Her ATK increases 300 points since the Dark Magician is in the Graveyard…" He said as the famous Spellcaster burst through the curtains. "Then I'll play my Magic Formula to raise her ATK by a further 800 points!"

"Oh no you don't! I discard one card from my hand to activate Gladiator Beast Heraklinos' effect, negating your Spell Card!" Serena said. Atem's eyes widened. "I end my turn," He said.

"I'll play Gladiator Beast Laquari again!" Serena said. "Heraklinos attacks Dark Magician Girl!" Heraklinos rushed forward and sliced apart Atem's monster (2000 1300). "And Laquari will finish it off! Flaming Sword Slice!" Atem shielded himself with his arms as the direct attack struck (1300 0). Serena stood silent as the holograms faded. No one and nothing moved as the realization that Atem had just lost to Serena set in.

"What the… did Serena just beat the King of Games?" Rei asked in shock.

"Not quite. That's actually me," Yugi piped up, surprised as everyone else. Atem was silent for a moment before smiling, a light brightly shining in his eyes.

"You built an excellent deck, Serena. Your heart is in it, and that will lead you to many victories so long as you hold faith in yourself and your cards," He said, stepping forward to shake Serena's hand. She accepted, in shock herself that she'd pulled out such a decisive win.

"I… wow. I mean, you've beaten so many more powerful opponents. How did I -"

"Because those players did not have the power of heart. Seto Kaiba is getting better at that, albeit slowly. But Pegasus… the spirits of the Rod and the Ring… Dartz… they were all hungry for power. Their drive to win was fueled not by heart but by aggression, evil and lust. You believe in your Deck and yourself," Atem explained with a shining smile.

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_How can I lose now?_ Beryl thought as she drew. She smiled at the card and held it up to simultaneously show and play it. "I activate Monster Reborn, targeting Darklord Superbia! But this time I won't be summoning Zerato with his effect. This time, say hello to Archlord Kristya!" She said as the holy angel rose from Superbia (2800/2300). "I once again destroy Grapha! Superbia, attack!" She declared. A dark hand came from Superbia's top and dragged Grapha in (Bakura: 6800 6600). "Dark Door stops other attacks, so it's your move," She said. Bakura drew and chuckled.

"It was a terrible idea to Summon Kristya," He said. "I play a card face-down and activate Dragged Down into the Grave! We are both forced to reveal our hands and discard one card of our opponent's choice then draw one card, but in this case we each only have one card," He said. He discarded a Grapha and she a Valhalla. "Grapha destroys Kristya!"

"Kristya's special ability puts it to the top of the deck instead of…" Beryl stopped short as she realized her error. The Crush Card would still be in effect for two more turns. Since she just placed Kristya on her Deck, that meant no helpful draw next turn as well as Kristya in the Graveyard. As well, she had drawn Gellenduo with Dragged, so it had been discarded by the Virus.

"I will now reveal my face-down card that I just set, Graceful Charity! I now draw three cards, then discard two from my hand. I discard another Grapha as well as a Snoww, Unlight of Dark World! Grapha destroys Deus Token, then Snoww fetches a Dark World card to my hand! Let's turn down the lights with my Gates again, shall we?" He said as the field morphed once more into the underworld. "No more removal cards to stop me now. I Banish Broww from my Graveyard to discard one card and draw another. I discard Beiige, Vanguard of Dark World and draw. Then, since Beiige was discarded, he will Special Summon himself," He added as a brownish demon rose to the field (1600/1300).

"Next is my Snoww," He continued. This time it was a dark angel in a flowing white dress that appeared (1700/0). "With my Gates up, all Fiends gain 300 ATK and DEF (1600/1300 1900/1600) (1700/0 2000/300). Then I return Beiige to Summon Grapha from the Graveyard!" He returned the card to his hand even as the dragon rose again (2700/1800 3000/2100). "I'll repeat the process with Snoww," He added. Now two ferocious, demonic dragons stood side by side, staring down the Negaverse Queen. "You have no monsters, no Traps to protect you. I ATTACK!" Bakura exclaimed. Beryl was nearly blasted into a wall by the twin bursts from the dragons (Beryl: 8100 2100).

"This duel is over. On the next turn you will draw Archlord Kristya, which my Virus will infect and destroy," Bakura said. He was right. Between his virus, his hand-destroying techniques and a mistake from Beryl she had lost, She drew, discard and placed her hand over her Deck in surrender.

"Not bad for a beginner, but you still need work. Keep up the practice. Soon enough, we will be entering this tournament. Then," Bakura said with a wicked grin, "we shall see just how much of a threat your 'Sailor Scouts' pose."


	8. Fight Night

"Alright, I think we're set," Serena said. After realizing that they were going to be spending some time in Domino City, the girls had made a trip back home to grab travel preparations. She herself had just finished cramming her stuff into the back of Amy's vehicle.

"Aren't we forgetting something?" Luna asked. All eyes turned to the cat. "Accommodations. Where are we supposed to stay during the tournament? I'm quite sure we aren't all cramming into Yugi's room or even the game shop," she said. The girls just kind of stared at each other.

"Uh… good point, come to think of it. We could book a hotel," Mina suggested. Amy rose an eyebrow.

"Since when do you have that sort of money laying around? Hotels aren't free," She reminded her friend. Mina's face fell. "How about we give Yugi a ring? Maybe he'll have an idea," She suggested. Serena nodded and pulled out her cell phone, dialing the number as she did.

"Hello? Oh, hi Mr. Moto. We need to talk to Yugi. He is? OK, cool," Serena waited. "Hey, Yugi. We kind of had a question… where are we going to stay?" The other Scouts waited as Serena listened for a minute. "Yeah, hotels are a little out of our price range." More listening. "I don't know… He didn't seem like the kind of- wait, are you seriously suggesting blackmail? Yugi, that's not even right… Although we are there for basically tournament security," she added as an afterthought. She sighed, thought, and finally nodded. "Alright, we'll try it. Thanks, bye," She said before hanging up.

"Well, basically Yugi wants us to blackmail Kaiba into getting us a place to stay," Serena explained. Eyebrows rose. "Yugi gave me his office number. Said to tell Kaiba that unless he can get us a place, 'certain people that we may or may not know may or may not be able to sabotage the tournament,'" she quoted. Lita's face broke into a broad grin, Rei and Mina looked neutral and Amy had her palm firmly placed on her forehead.

"Seriously… do it, I guess," She said finally. Serena dialed the number and waited.

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"Telephone call for you, Mr. Kaiba," A voice came over his speakerphone. Kaiba gave a grunt of acknowledgement as he picked up the phone. "Kaibacorp, please state your business."

"Uhm. Mr. Kaiba? My name is Serena Tsukino. My friends and I were the ones that Yugi said knew something about the strange people you met the other day," The girl began.

"Ok…? Is there a point here?" Kaiba asked impatiently.

"Well, yeah. We know who they are within a reasonable, educated guess. And those particular people are, well, let's just say that if they want a piece of your tournament, they'll surely be up to no good. We'd like to enter your tournament to keep an eye out, but we kind of don't have a place to stay," Serena explained.

"Then rent a hotel. Problem solved, aren't I a genius?" Kaiba responded dryly.

"We don't exactly have that kind of money lying around, Mr. Kaiba. That's the problem; we don't have the means to find a place. We were kind of hoping that maybe you could help us out? Book a hotel under the company name or something?" Serena asked somewhat timidly.

"KaibaCorp doesn't do charity work for a couple of girls that can't get a room, sorry. You'll have to figure it out," Kaiba replied. He was halfway to hanging up the phone when he heard her speak again.

Serena hesitated a second before finally screwing up her courage. "Well, in that case, we just might not be able to be there when this tournament screws up like the last Battle City did and KaibaCorp's good name is in danger because they can't hold a tournament without people getting hurt," She said bravely. Kaiba's jaw dropped on the other end.

"Are you seriously blackmailing me?!" He half-yelled into the phone. "…Hold on a minute," he said. He set the receiver down on the desk and turned around. Thoughts flew through his head. _If she's right, and she sounds pretty certain, then my next Battle City could completely ruin the company name if it gets hijacked! If these… what the hell did Yugi call them? Sailor Scouts, I think. If these girls actually can protect my tournament from the inside, I can't afford to not have them around… Son of a bitch_, He realized that he was going to have to cave in to blackmail.

"…Fine. Be at… screw it, the Domino City Mariott in three hours. Can you do that? Good. My brother will be there with your pass cards, and since you're entering the tournament anyway I'll have your Battle City door packages in the rooms. There, that's my charity for the year. Goodbye," He said before hanging up. On the other end, Serena pumped her fist in victory.

"Yes! It worked! Domino City Mariott in three hours, we'll have our doorcards and duel disks and everything," She said happily. Amy groaned, still in disbelief that they had just bribed a multi-million dollar CEO into booking them a hotel.

"Let's go then," She said after a moment of rubbing her temples. And with that, they were off.

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"Tomorrow's the big day… I can't sleep!" Serena told Luna. They'd been in the hotel for three days now, dueled each other a few times for practice and now it was finally the night before Kaiba's next big tournament. "Maybe I should just look through it one more time…" She reached for her deck, but Luna put a paw over it.

"You second-guess yourself too many times and you'll wind up fixing what isn't broken," She said wisely. Serena thought for a moment, realized that Luna was right and started to lay back down in bed when she heard strange murmuring. She glanced at Luna, who nodded. Serena rose from her bed, gripping her Moon Prism ready for action.

"Who's there?" She asked, stepping into the hall. She looked left, saw nothing, then looked right and saw a white-haired man in a striped shirt and leather pants checking the door number. Her voice made his head whip toward her, and he cursed the moment he saw the Scout.

"Why in the bloody hell can't they have lights in these Ra forsaken halls?" He muttered. "To answer your question… I go by Bakura, The Thief King. Then again, that was five thousand years ago. These days it's just Bakura," He told her with a dark smile. Serena could feel pulsing, radiating from this man.

"And just what are you doing here at…" Serena looked at her cell phone, "two-thirty in the morning?" She queried. Bakura's grin widened.

"Looking for you, actually. You are, shall we say… an unpleasant presence to me. You may even pose a minor threat in what I have in store for these next weeks. I need to eliminate you and your Scout friends while I have the chance," He explained, taking a Duel Monsters deck from his pocket.

"Well, at least he's honest," Luna said dryly. Serena's eyes narrowed.

"If it's a duel you want, I'll-" Bakura laughed quietly and shook his head.

"Silly girl. Duel Monsters is all well and fun, but I have no need for that tonight when I can simply summon my Morphing Jar!" He pulled a card from his deck and held it up. It glowed white, and suddenly a REAL version of the Morphing Jar, a regular vase with some odd creature hidden in it, emerged. Serena's eyes widened.

"Moon Prism Power!" She shouted. "I call on the Lunar Scepter!" She called after the transformation was complete. The familiar weapon appeared in her hand, and she ran forward with a mighty swing at the monster. It easily shattered, and Serena looked smugly at Bakura, who looked at though he was judging.

"Impressive," He said. Then, without warning, he grabbed her and flung her down the hall, her back slamming up against a window at the top of the stairs leading to the next floor. He charged and Serena rolled to the side as he came at her. She quickly realized he was going too fast to stop and watched in horror as he broke the window. Her horror changed to a shocked yelp as he grabbed her by the collar, taking the both of them out the window. Serena thanked the Moon that they were on the first floor as she picked herself up, looking across the alleyway they'd fallen into to see her opponent already charging her again.

This time she was ready. She grabbed his arm as he aimed a punch, twisted it around and threw him into the alley wall before clobbering him with the Scepter. She heard him yelp a word she didn't understand as she backed away, ready to strike again. Instead, she missed as he ran down the alley and into the street ahead. _Oh, great_, she thought. She recognized that area; it was the commercial district. No way in hell she'd be able to keep this fight quiet now.

He turned to face her after a couple minutes, grinning. "The hotel and alleyway were a little cramped for our first battle, don't you think?" He asked, pulling another card out. "Since you didn't seem to get along with my Morphing Jar, let's see how you play with Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World!" He said as the card glowed. This time, though, it was no small monster. A hulking demon of a dragon came forth, roaring at Serena and causing hordes of citizens to flee. Amazingly enough, Grapha had Summoned without destroying any property, but Serena was sure that wouldn't last.

"Grapha, attack with Dark Helfire!" Bakura called out. The dragon reared back, a nasty-looking energy charging in its mouth. Serena made to make a shield with her moon powers, but another voice rang out.

"Spellbinding Circle, GO!" Serena looked up to see Atem leaping from a car, a card glowing in his hand. Just as it had Secutor in their duel, a mystical circle surrounded the dragon, freezing it in place. "Sailor Moon! Attack now while I have it stunned!" He called to her. She nodded.

"Moon Tiara Magic!" She cried, flinging her tiara. It caught the dragon dead on, and with an anguished cry it disappeared. Bakura snarled; he had not expected the Pharoah's interference. His eyes darted back and forth for a moment as he made a decision.

"Dimensionhole!" He said, holding a Spell card up. Before either of them could act, Bakura stepped back through a portal that opened behind him, leaving no trace of his presence besides a broken window. Atem rushed toward the heroine.

"Are you alright, Serena?" He asked quietly. She nodded. "Good. Where are your friends?"

"The hotel walls are soundproofed. I doubt they even woke up," She replied with a laugh. "I'm not even sure how I heard… Bakura, right?" Atem nodded. "I think it was his evil energy that caught my attention… he radiated it like a bad smell," She said. Atem nodded again.

"Go back, get some sleep. We will talk in the morning, before the tournament gets underway," Atem said gently. Serena nodded.

"…Thanks," She added as they made their way to the hotel. "I don't think I would've been able to stop that thing alone with that Spellbinding Circle," She said. Atem smiled.

"Any time. See you in the morning," He said as they came to the hotel entrance.


	9. Aren't Dragons weak to Ice?

"Bakura's presence is a terrible omen," Atem said as he paced the floor, The Battle City tournament was on in an hour, and the Sailor Scouts were on their way to the game shop to meet with Yugi and himself. "And to openly attack Serena… a very bold challenge, as far as I'm concerned," He continued.

"I'd say Bakura was sending a message, bro. He wants us to know that he's here, that danger and trouble could be around any corner. He wants to put us on edge," Yugi agreed. His attention was drawn to the door as the bell jingled to announce guests. As predicted, the Scouts all filed into the shop and sat around the lounge table, where Joey as well as Atem and Yugi were already present.

"OK, so give me the 4-1-1. What's going on here? Serena told us some jackass named Bakura attacked her with a dragon last night and that you saved her butt." Lita said bluntly. Atem nodded.

"Bakura is an enemy of mine from the ancient sands of Egypt. Back then, he was a masterful thief who killed many a man in his travels. He attempted many times to gather and steal the Millenium Items after sealing his spirit in the Ring. He got his hands on the Millenium Eye, which he eventually gave to Seto Kaiba. It's complicated," He explained.

"And what precisely were those… things that attacked me?" Serena wondered. Atem sighed.

"Those were Duel Monsters brought to life by Bakura's shadow powers… He, being the spirit of a Millenium Item, has powers derived from a place called the Shadow Realm. You remember me telling you about the ancient Shadow Games, right?" He asked. Everyone nodded. "Well, back then we used dark shadow magic to bring the creatures to life. That same magic was used last night by Bakura and I. However, that wasn't the only sort of power used last night, was it?" Atem turn to Serena with a smile.

"That was the power of my Moon Prism," Serena said with a nod, holding up the crystal. "We each have one… They allow us to transform into our Sailor forms," She explained. Atem nodded, then quickly frowned.

"It's strange… I've seen Bakura use the Morphing Jar before. But that dragon… Bakura has some new strategy in his Deck. Keep that in mind if even you duel him," Atem warned. The Scouts, Yugi and Joey all nodded.

"Well, if Bakura wants to play with dragons we can just let Mr. Moneybags take care of him," Joey commented. "Speaking of…" He added as the lounge TV suddenly cut to Seto Kaiba's face in his office.

"He's allowed to just cut in on the TV programs?" Serena wondered.

"Serena, Duel Monsters is a HUGE deal around dese parts and Moneybags is a big name in it. Yeah, they let him butt in from time to time," Joey said as Kaiba began to speak.

"I am Seto Kaiba. For the few of you that have been living under a rock, I am the CEO of KaibaCorp. As of now, KaibaCorp is announcing the Battle City tournament to begin! See you on the field," He said before the program cut back in. Joey grinned as he slid his Duel Disk on.

"Alright, let da games begin!" He said before rushing out the door to find his first opponent. Everyone blinked, half-expecting to see a cartoon dust cloud in his wake. Atem smiled and shook his head.

"That's Joey for you… We really should split up. Meet back here at lunch?" Yugi suggested. Serena looked to the Scouts, who nodded in agreement. "Alright, cool. See you later, then," He said. Everyone said their goodbyes and headed in different directions.

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"So… everyone wearing a Duel Disk is eligible to challenge?" Amy wondered to herself. She had wandered over to the scene of Bakura and Serena's battle, looking around and seeing several Duels in progress. A shout of "Yo! Blue!" caught her attention, causing her to turn around.

"My name is Amy," She said politely but firmly. The man facing her had spiky black hair and what looked like a school uniform, but black. From the looks of him, he was more of a Seto Kaiba- type person than anything else. He gave a nod of acknowledgement and gave her a once-over.

"Well, Amy, let's duel for the Battle City tournament. I see you have a Duel Disk," He said, indicating the device on her arm. She raised an eyebrow and finally decided.

"Sure, but may I ask who exactly I'm facing off against?" She asked as she started up her Disk. He nodded and pressed the button to activate his Disk as well, sliding his deck in as he spoke.

"The name's Chazz Princeton. Top of my graduation class at Duel Academy," he added as he drew his opening hand. She arched an eyebrow again.

"Academy? There's a school for this game?" She wondered. He nodded. "Geez. Must be a popular game in this area…" He gave a short, barking laugh.

"Of course it is. It's only the most popular card game there is," He said. He drew his sixth card and eyed his hand. "I'm starting by playing Golem Dragon in Defense Mode (200/2000)! I'll Set two cards and it's your turn," He said as a dragon with massive forearms appeared..

"Draw! And I'll play… Dewdark of the Ice Barrier!" Amy announced. A blonde-haired man in a purple suit rose to the field (1200/800). "And since all my Monsters are Level 2 or lower, he can bypass that big dragon and attack you directly! Icicle Spear Strike!" She ordered. Dewdark charged and leapt over Chazz's dragon, raining spears of ice on his head (8000 6800) before performing a neat flip back to Amy.

"I'll lay two cards facedown as well before I end my turn," She added. Chazz nodded and drew as a small crowd of spectators began to form around the two duelists.

"Alright, you called down the thunder and now you're gonna it. I activate my facedown Twin Dragons! I'm now allowed to Summon one Dragon from my hand as long as it has the same Level as Golem Dragon, so I'll call forth Lancer Lindwurm!" Chazz said as his card flipped. A gold-armored green dragon summoned to the field with a large spear in its hand (1800/1200). "He's not staying, though. I play the Dragonic Tactics card, Tributing two Dragons I control to Summon a Level 8 Dragon from my Deck! Burning Dragon, in Attack Mode!"

"From your deck?" Amy was shocked at the sudden power play. Both of his monsters disappeared in a whirldwind to be replaced by a flaming hulk of a dragon descending from the skies (2500/2100). Chazz smirked as it came to rest on his field. _Man, is this guy Kaiba's son or what? He's got the dragons, the attitude and everything_, Amy thought.

"When Burning Dragon is Summoned, all Spell and Trap cards on the field are annihilated!" Chazz said as a wave of flames spread out from the dragon. Amy cursed silently as her Ice Barrier and Claymore Mine cards were obliterated. "I'll Chain my card, Dragon's Descent! It allows me Special Summon another Level 4 Dragon from my hand! I'll play Guivre!" A dragon that Burning Dragon dwarfed appeared next to the flaming behemoth, its small head directed straight at Dewdark (1300/400).

"I attack Dewdark with Guivre!" He said, The dragon reared back and shot a fireball at her monster, shattering it on contact (80007900). "When Guivre destroys a monster in battle, I get a Wyvern Token (400/400)," He added as a small, almost infantile dragon appeared. "Now, Burning Dragon! Incineration Charge!" Amy held her arms up in self-defense as the dragon flew toward her and slammed her with a flaming claw (7900 5400). "I'll place one card face-down and end my turn."

Amy gulped. Such force on his side of the field… She looked at her hand. Dai-Sojo was of no use… She supposed Strategist could help her draw a card, but for what? And Gantala couldn't be played either.. No monster in her hand could match Burning Dragon, which was rather fitting. She began to move her hand to her deck in surrender when a voice stopped her.

"You're giving up already?" Amy's head shot up to see Atem in the crowd, his arms crossed. "This match is far from over, Amy!" He said. Amy looked at him for a moment, then finally nodded. She closed her eyes and put two fingers on her deck.

_Come on, deck. Don't fail me! _ She thought as she drew. Looking at her card, she furrowed her eyebrows. _Cryomancer! Now if only I could summon twice… _"I'll lay it all on this! Strategist of the Ice Barrier, in Attack Mode!" And old man in blue robes appeared (1600/1600). "I discard Cryomancer of the Ice Barrier in order to draw one card!" She announced. Drawing her card, her eyes lit up. "I play Monster Reborn to Special Summon my Cryomancer back to the field!" Another man, this time in a tan outfit with an icy sword rose up (1300/0). "That's all for now," She finished. Chazz laughed and drew.

"Burning Dragon, attack Cryomancer with Incineration Charge!" He ordered. After a moment, he blinked. "I said charge!" He said again. Amy gave an infuriating smile. "What's going on here?" He demanded.

"Rather simple, actually. So long as my Cryomancer and one other Ice Barrier monster are on the field, monsters of Level 4 or higher are unable to attack!" She explained. Chazz exhaled impatiently and motioned to pass turn. She drew and smiled again.

"I play Medallion of the Ice Barrier!" She said. "This card gives me an Ice Barrier Monster to my hand. And I choose Dance Princess of the Ice Barrier, which I will then Summon!" She said. A woman bearing remarkable resemblance to Amy herself rose up (1700/900). "I'll then activate her effect, revealing one Ice Barrier from my hand," she held up Dai-Sojo, "to return your one Spell or Trap to your hand," She finished. Chazz growled as he took his card back.

_An Ice series of monsters… her heart is in her deck. But does she have enough belief in herself to lead it to victory? _Atem thought. He looked at her eyes, which showed determination. _She wants to win, that much I can tell. But she won't win this duel if she doesn't start showing some confidence in herself_.

_If I go on the offensive now and he counters, I have no way of fighting back. On the other hand, I want to do what I can now that he has no way to counteract an attack_ Amy was conflicted in her thoughts. She looked across and saw Chazz tapping his foot impatiently.

"Come on, Blue Bonnet. You gonna make your move or pass? I'd like to win sometime today, my time is rather valuable," He said. Amy narrowed her eyes and balled her hands into fists. Something inside her snapped, whether it be from Chazz's smart remarks or the pressure of the duel.

Atem's eyes widened from the sidelines as a powerful surge of energy hit him. _What was that? The last time I felt that sort of power was when Jaden and Yusei were gearing up for our match against Paradox… was that Amy's dueling spirit breaking loose?_

"Alright, that's it. I'll tune my Level 4 Dance Princess and Level 2 Cryomancer Tuner monster!" Amy said with a toughness new to Chazz, who instinctively took a step backwards. He'd heard of Synchro monsters but never seen one. "I play Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier!" She announced as a huge, blue and white dragon was Summoned. "I now activate the special ability of my Dragon! Discarding two cards from my hand, I can send two of yours TO your hand! Burning Dragon! Lance Lindwurm! Begone!" She commanded as she dumped her hand. "Now the coast is clear. Brionac, attack that Token with Freezing Whirlwind!" The dragon roared and unleashed a tornado blizzard (6800 4900).

"Strategist, Dewdark get in there with Ice Sword Slash!" She continued. The old man and warrior leapt in the air and slashed with the sword he'd just gain at Chazz (4900 2100). "That's all for now. Give me your best shot!" She challenged, surprising even herself as Chazz drew.

"Uh… Ok… I draw and play one face-down card. Then I'll activate Hopeful Future! Come on, spirit, don't fail me now," Amy heard him whisper. "Hopeful Future lets me draw two cards if I have no hand, so here we go," He said aloud. He smiled. "Now I activate my other face-down card, Dragon's Scent! Since you have two monsters on the field, I'm allowed to Special Summon Wish Dragon from my hand!" He said large-winged dragon with curved horns appeared.

"Then I'll sacrifice Wish Dragon for its special ability, summoning two Dragon Tokens which I will then sacrifice to Tribute Summon this! Light and Darkness Dragon!" He said with great confidence. Amy watched in awe as a massive dragon that was split between an angelic-winged, white-colored dragon and a demonic-looking one rose to the field (2800/2400). "This duel is over, Amy!"


	10. Out With The Cold, In With The New

"Whoa… dat's a really big dragon. Wonder if Moneybags is playing?" Joey wondered. He'd hooked up with Rei after beating Weevil for a locator card and his Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth, which he'd really taken just out of spite. Rei shrugged. "Come on, let's go watch," He said. Rei nodded and the pair walked over to the duel in progress.

"I don't recognize dat guy… whoa. I definitely recognize _her _thought," Joey added, pointing. Rei followed his guidance and inhaled sharply as she saw Amy standing on the wrong side of the gigantic dragon. "Hey, Atem!" Joey called out getting both Atem and Amy's attention. Joey and Rei ran over to where Atem was watching. "Life Points don't look too mismatched," Joey observed. Atem nodded.

I wouldn't say that. It's a 2300 point difference in Amy's favor. But I have no idea if that Dragon has a special ability, and even if not she'll have a time and a half of destroying it," Atem replied.

"Light and Darkness Dragon, attack her Brionac with Darklight Blast!" Chazz ordered. The beam of energy fired from Chazz's dragon's mouth, obliterating the Dragon with ease (5400 4900). "Your move," He added. Amy nodded and drew, then smiled. She was pretty sure she'd seen this card before during her research of the game. And if it was the card she was thinking of, she just needed a "distraction" for it.

"Draw…" She said. _Alright, that's step one: Forbidden Chalice. Now to stall… _"Cryomancer in Defense," She said before ending. He drew and ordered Light and Darkness to destroy Cryomancer. She nodded and drew.

_Ok… not good. Sheesh, not good. I at least have a shot with Pot of Greed to trigger the distraction… have faith in your deck- no, in yourself, Amy, _she told herself. "I activate Pot of Greed!" Chazz smirked.

"Light and Darkness Dragon automatically negates the effects of any and all Spell, Trap and Monster cards at the price of 500 ATK and DEF (2800/2400 2300/1900)," He told her.

"Holy… dat's a ridiculous power! Only weakness there is dat it can't do it more than…five times!" Joey said after doing some quick math in his head. Even Atem seemed concerned. Then he cocked his head.

"Joey, look," He said, pointing to Amy. Joey glanced over to see Amy mirroring Chazz's smirk, rare enough on Amy's face any time but especially now. "She's up to something," He said.

"I respond to the Dragon's effect with Forbidden Chalice! I may not have played too many duels, but I've done the reading. Light and Darkness Dragon can only use its effect one time per 'chain' of card effects, so you can't negate Chalice! Incidentally, Forbidden Chalice raises the ATK power of one monster on the field 400 points at the 'cost' of negating that monster's effects for the turn," She said (2300 2700). "And, since Chalice negates your Dragon, Graceful Charity resolves!" She drew three cards as Chazz sputtered.

"Oh gee, big surprise. Amy's done her homework," Rei said dryly.

"I use Pot of Avarice! I put Dai-Sojo, Gantala, Brionac, Strategist and Dewdark back to my Deck, shuffle it, and draw two cards!" She said. "Alright, here we go! I was hoping this combo would work well, it looked good on paper… I play Deep Sea Diva (200/400)!" A pinkish mermaid rose up. "Her effect summons a level 3 or lower Sea Serpent from the Deck, so I Special Summon Lost Blue Breaker!" She continued as a two-headed sea beast came up beside the mermaid (1400/0). "Then I'll play Double Summon, which allows me an additional Summon, so I'll play Dance Princess again!" She said.

"So what? You have three monsters, yay. None of them get over my Dragon," Chazz bragged.

"That's why I'm Synchro Summoning," she said. Chazz's eyes widened. "I tune my Level 2 Diva with my Level 3 Breaker and Level 4 Dance Princess. You want to play with Dragons? Meet the ultimate in Ice Barriers: Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier!" She announced. A three-headed, ice-like blue and white dragon of the same size as Light and Darkness Dragon roared to life (2700/2000).

"Dueling dragons… both of the same strength. But what can Trishula do?" Joey wondered.

"When Trishula is Summoned, I Banish one card from your hand, field and Graveyard. Burning Dragon, Light and Darkness Dragon and a random card from your hand!" Amy said. "Oh, and since Light and Darkness Dragon was Banished and not destroyed, he won't be Summoning anything else," She added. Chazz could only gape. "Trishula, attack now! Blizzard Fury of the Ice Barrier!" She cried. Chazz held his hands up to protect from the wintery blast (3300 600).

Chazz drew, looked at his hand, and shook his head as he surrendered the match. Atem smiled from the sidelines. _Good girl… she just needed a friend to boost her confidence, _He thought to himself before following Joey and Rei to meet with the winner.

"Dat was nuts, Amy!" Joey said as he got within speaking distance.

"Oh! Hey, Joey, Rei. Thank you, Atem," She added as she saw him stride up. He smiled and opened his mouth to speak, but closed it as Chazz came up.

"So… I owe you these," Chazz said, holding out a locator card and though Amy saw him hesitate, Light and Darkness Dragon. She took the locator, pocketed it, went to take the Dragon and stopped cold as the Dragon appeared to her again. It was in a miniature form, standing on top of the card. It acted as if it was being bound, resisting capture, trying to pull back.

"This card… it's more than just a card to you," Amy said in a factual manner. Chazz, not one to show emotion, did little more than nod slightly. "There's some sort of magic in this card, isn't there, Chazz?" She queried in a voice barely audible to him. He nodded again. "I won't take it," She said aloud, putting it back in his hand.

"…Thank you," Chazz said after a moment. Shuffling the Dragon back into his deck, he began to walk away. Amy smiled; she knew there was something different about that Dragon that the naked average eye could not see, and she knew where that card belonged.

"You made a wise decision," Amy jumped slightly at the sound of Atem's voice. The small group began to walk away as they spoke. "I assume your… gifts allowed you to see that spirit?" He asked.

"Is that what it was?" She asked. Atem nodded. "Hm… interesting. It probably _does _have something to do being a Sailor Scout," She mused. Her phone rang, so she reached in and fished it out of her pocket. "Hello? Whoa, whoa Serena. Slow down. What happened? You're in a duel? OK. Wait, what? …We're on our way," She said before hanging up.

"What was dat all about?" Joey asked. Amy frowned.

"Serena says she's dueling some guy named… Weevil? I think that's what she said. Anyway, she said something was wrong, then I heard someone telling her to make a move and she hung up," She said concernedly. Atem fired up his Duel Disk.

"I've got a lock on her location. Let's go," He said.

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"You're cheating! I won't play the match like this," Serena said firmly to the short, green-coated duelist with the bowl-cut blue hair in front of her. He laughed at her before giving a smirk.

"It's too late to back out! If you quit now, your locator card is forfeit as is your rarest card!" He told her gleefully. Serena made to respond, but caught Amy's blue hair out of the corner of her eye.

"Amy! Oh thank goodness. This little creep switched our Duel Disks before the match started!" Serena said crossly. Atem growled.

"Can you EVER play a fair match, Weevil?" He asked. Weevil laughed in his face.

"It doesn't matter how you win, as long as you win!" He replied. Behind him, Atem saw Rex Raptor smiling too.

"He's right, you know. So long as her Life Points hit 0, he'll get her locator card. And that's all that matters to us," Rex said. Atem narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth, but Joey got there first.

"If you don't cancel this match right now, Ima come over dere and knock you clear into next week!" He threatened, already closing the distance between the two. Atem held a hand out.

"Joey, this isn't a matter to be settled by violence," He said. Joey snorted but halted. Rei, on the other hand wasn't so obedient. She marched over to Weevil and lifted him up by the scruff of his collar.

"Listen, maggot-breath. If you don't play fair, I really WILL take your head off. And I don't listen to Atem," She warned.

"She doesn't really listen to anyone, to be honest," Amy commented. Rei smirked and cocked a fist.

"No." Rei stopped mid-swing to look at Serena. "Drop him. It's against _our _code to act on senseless violence, Rei," She reminded her. "I'll deal with him myself!" She finished. Rei thought for a minute and finally dropped the little player.

"Well, well then. Let's do this! And I'll even let you have the first move," Weevil said as if being generous. Serena narrowed her eyes and drew.

_How the hell do I play these things? _She eyed the cards in her hand. "I play…" Rei growled from the sidelines.

"She's playing with that runt's deck. She's barely played with HER deck enough to win consistently, now she's got his deck to adjust to?" She said. Atem nodded and frowned. Then, as if it was lightning an idea struck him.

"Serena, wait!" He called out as she was about to play. She looked up as he yelled and watched as he pressed a button on his disk. "I have an offer for you, Weevil. Add me into this match, and if you win…"

"If I win? Sure, you'll fork over Slifer, but so what? You knocked Rex and I clear out of the competitive scene! I want more than just Slifer," He said. Atem smiled.

"Alright, then, here are my terms; cancel this match, give Serena her cards back. You do realize that you have to win with _your _Duel Disk to win the locator cards, right?" He asked. Weevil thought it over and frowned. "So. Give her the Duel Disk and her rightful belongings. We will make this an official Battle City tag-team duel, Serena and I versus you and Rex. If you win, I will surrender my deck for you to share," Atem said.

Weevil considered. He'd tried taking Yugi's deck before, back when they were both still running cards like Silver Wolf and Basic Insect and thinking that Great Moth was an amazing card. Now having that deck would mean getting cards like Dark Magician, Buster Blader, Mirror Force and of course Slifer.

"…fine," He said finally, hitting the appropriate button on his Duel Disk. Serena looked worriedly at Atem.

"You don't have to do this. I could-"

"Yes, I do. I am sick and tired of these two trying to win by cheating. Weevil lost fair and square to Joey earlier, so now he's resorting to tricks like stealing cards to win. And," He added, taking the Deck out of Weevil's Disk. "Just as I thought," He spat venomously, fanning it out for Serena. Her mouth fell open; it was comprised solely of the weakest non-effect Monsters in the game. "He gave you a dud deck," He said even as Weevil pulled his real deck from his pocket.

"…Let's show that creep what happens when you screw with the wrong girl," She said angrily after a moment. Rex walked into position, activated his own Disk, and with all present looking on anxiously…

"LET'S DUEL!"


	11. Tag Team Trouble

And now, a word from your friendly neighboorhood Sailor Scouts:

Lita: Is there a reason he can't just do his own Author's Notes? And isn't "friendly neighboorhood" copyrighted? *sigh* Anyway, Jesse would like to note that for this upcoming Duel, Weevil and Rex will be using cards that they have not used in canon. This is due to the fact that they always get stomped too quickly to really see much of their decks. Also, we'd like to thank you for continuing to read through this and encourage you to leave reviews so that you can point out all the mistakes in these due- I mean, leave constructive feedback.

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"Weevil already gave Serena the first move," Atem reminded everyone as they drew. Serena nodded and drew a sixth.

"I'll play two cards facedown, a facedown monster and that'll be all," She announced as the cards materialized. Weevil nodded and drew.

"I'll start out with Pinch Hopper in Defense mode!" He said as a large praying mantis entered the field (1000/1200). "I'll place three cards facedown and it's your move, Yugi," He said.

"It's Atem," He corrected as he drew. "I'll start by playing Emblem of Dragon Destroyer, which allows me to bring Buster Blader straight to my hand from the deck!" He announced, fishing the card out. _She's playing defense… is she being forced to or is she setting herself up? _I'll place three cards down as well as playing the Skilled Dark Magician!" He said. The black-robed mage rose before Atem (1900/1700), ready for combat. "That ends my turn," He added.

Rex grinned. _Since I'm going last, I get to attack! _He thought excitedly. "Ah! Excellent! I play Balloon Lizard!" He said. A bloated iguana materialized before him (500/1900). "Next, I'll speed things up a bit with my Ultra Evolution Pill, which will make my Reptile evolve into a mighty Dinosaur! I Summon Super Conductor Tyranno!" He said even as the enormous, lightning-charged dinosaur made its presence known (3300/1400). "I'll play Jurrasic World to pump him up," he continued as the Field Spell turned everything into a lush forest with a volcano in the middle of the playing area (3300/1400 3600/1700). "I attack Skill Dark Magician!"

"Not quite, Rex! I activate Magic Cylinders!" Atem countered. Weevil smirked.

"Nice try! I'll activate my Trap Stun, Atem!" Weevil countered. A shockwave spread over the field and Atem grimaced. When the hit never came, he looked around, wondering why nothing had happened.

"What, did you forget about me?" Serena's voice drew all eyes to her. "I activated my Parry trap! I have to return a Gladiator Beast to my Deck from my hand, like this here Equeste, but in exchange I can nullify a Trap card! Looks like I stunned your stunner," She said smugly as the shockwave dissipated. The dinosaur's lightning strike went in and out of the Cylinders, striking Rex (8000 4400) who grunted as he took the blow.

"Excellent save, Serena!" Atem praised. Serena blushed as Rex shook his head to clear it.

"Two cards down and it's Rapunzel's turn," He said. Serena's eyebrow twitched as Amy and Rei winced from the sidelines. Meatball Head was one thing; they only called her that when they were mad at her or if she was being stupid. But Rapunzel was the one name that really pissed Serena off.

"You're gonna pay for that!" She yelled as she drew. She quickly eyeballed her hand. "Atem, you lookin' to use that down card anytime soon?" She asked. Surprised by the new aggressive attitude, he shook his head. "Good, 'cause I'm about to make a new decree on this duel. A Royal Decree, that is!" She said as she activated her Trap. "I couldn't use it earlier because it was the wrong Spell Speed, but now that it's up everyone's traps are hereby negated!" She said.

"Weevi?" Rex said. Weevil looked at him. "I gotta do it. If not now, then never," He told him. Weevil nodded.

"Do what?" Atem asked.

"Chain this to Royal Decree! Jurrac Impact! Since I control a Dinosaur stronger than 2500, this Trap will out every card on the field!" He declared as a massive earthquake shook the ground underfoot. "And now I believe Weevil has an announcement," He added.

"Sure do. My Pinch Hopper was sent to the Graveyard, so I can Summon any one Insect from my Deck! I'll play Brain Crusher in Attack mode!" He said. A blue and red large bug with nasty teeth and multiple wings hit the field (2400/1500). Serena made a face.

"One card facedown and that's it," She said. Weevil grinned and drew.

"One card facedown and I attack you directly, Serena!" He crowed. The Crusher flew at Serena, and to Atem's shock flung her a good three or four feet upon impact, sending her on her back.

"Serena! What just happened?" Atem asked to anyone who had an answer. Then he heard Rex snickering. "What have you done?!" He roared as he helped Serena to her feet. "Are you alright?" He asked. She nodded and dusted herself off.

"We didn't do anything except… 'enhance' the experience! You should be used to dueling with safeties off, you've had your share of Shadow Games," Weevil smirked. Atem growled. Safeties off was a VERY dangerous way to use the Duel Disks. "Your move, Atem," He said.

"Very well. Draw! I'll play Polymerization, fusing my Dark Magician and Buster Blader to form Dark Paladin!" He said. The two monsters appeared, conjoined, and from the two the Dark Magician descended with his staff and armor merged into that of Buster Blader's (2900/2400). "Attack Brain Crusher now!"

"And walking straight into a trap. Very good. I use Ego Boost! Since your monster attacked, I can have my Brain Crusher gain 1000 ATK!" He said proudly. Atem snarled as the insect obliterated his Magician (8000 7400).

"Like your ego needed any more inflation," He said venomously. I'll end my- what?" He was interrupted by Brain Crusher hatching an egg, and to Atem's disgust Dark Paladin emerged. "How?!"

"Whenever Brain Crusher destroys a monster, I can nab it from your Graveyard! Hee hee," Weevil laughed. Atem shook with anger. First Weevil cheated, then Rex AND Weevil cheated the Duel Disks, and now Weevil was taking his best card? He motioned to end. Rex, having no hand, drew and passed. He'd let Weevil pick up the slack with Atem's monsters while he reloaded.

Serena drew. _Alright, you green little parasite. Time to lay down some salt_ "I'll play Fusion Reload! I choose Dark Paladin, round the Level to four, and since Atem is my teammate we'll both draw four cards. Next, I'll play Gladiator Beast Secutor in Defense Mode (400/300) and three face-down cards. Go," She ordered. Weevil drew.

"Brain Crusher, attack Atem directly!" He commanded.

"No! I play Staunch Defender! I'd normally use this card to redirect attacks from a weaker Gladiator to a strong one, but this time I'm using it to save Atem. I'll also Chain my Waboku," She added as the insect bounced off the barrier. "And my Secutor battled, so here comes Laquari (1800/300) and Murmillo (800/400). Their effects go off, so you Crusher is destroyed. In addition, Laquari gain 300 ATK (1800/300 2100/300)."

"No! My beautiful bug! You're going to pay for that little mistake. I end my turn for now, but next turn…" He let the threat hang. Serena turned to Atem.

"Atem, I believe it is YOU who has an announcement now," She said with a smile. Atem raised an eyebrow, drew, smiled at Serena and nodded.

"She's right. I'll offer Laquari, Murmillo and Secutor as Tributes!" Weevil and Rex's faces became very pale. They knew what that meant. Atem held his card high in the air. "I summon SLIFER THE SKY DRAGON! ATTACK MODE!" He roared. The massive Egyptian God roared into play, circling the skies as it stared down Weevil and Rex. Atem glared at his opponents; they'd hurt a friend, and now they were going to pay. "Slifer the Sky Dragon gains 1000 ATK per card in my hand. I count five cards!" He said. Slifer roared (5000/5000). "Slifer! Attack Rex now with Thunder Force attack!" He ordered.

Amy, Rei and Joey watched in awe as the God reared back to strike. And from afar, so did Neflite. "Neflite to Beryl. He's played the God. It gains 1000 atk per card in the user's hand, that's all I've got for now," She said into a walkie. A derisive snort and "I could have told you THAT" came from Bakura on the other end. Neflite gave the device the finger and pocketed it.

Rex was blown away by the attack (4400 0). Weevil gulped, looked at Rex, and ran as fast as his short legs could carry him, pulling Rex with him and screaming like a little girl the entire way (8000 0). The holograms faded and everyone kept their distance from Atem momentarily. He was seething, and Amy was sure her Mercury Visor would have overloaded from the emotional energy output coming from him.

"Not even a day into the tournament and already my friends are injured. Serena, you're sure you're ok?" He asked. Then he frowned. "Wait. Where's Joey? Or Rei for that matter?" Atem didn't have to wait long; the two in question came strolling back with far-too-happy expressions on their faces as they handed Serena and Atem a locator card. "You caught them, didn't you?" Atem asked, knowing the answer. They nodded and he sighed. "Do I even want to know?"

"With your whole 'violence begets violence' thing'? Probably not," Rei replied. Amy looked at Atem, Atem looked at Serena, and all three of them simultaneously pinched the bridge of their noses. "Anyway, either of you guys want these stupid things?" She asked, waving Brain Crusher and Super Conductor Tyranno in the air. Serena and Atem shook their head. "Alright," She said. Joey barely stopped her from ripping the cards apart, instead pocketing them for who-knows-what. He was good at making odd cards count.

"I must say, Serena, you are a remarkably talented duelist, especially considering your experience," Atem complimented her.

"Yeah, well, let's just hope that's enough. So to recap, Amy, Atem, Joey and I each have 3 locators. How about you, Rei?" She asked. Rei blushed and Serena face palmed. "You did your 'go big or go home' thing, didn't you? Put up both your locators?" Rei gave a sheepish smile. "And lost, I presume," Serena continued. Rei's eyes shifted to the side as she nodded. "So great. You're out. Rei, we're in this tournament to protect the people from Queen Beryl and-"

"And who, me?" Everyone's eyes shot up at the sound of a new voice. Neflite emerged from a nearby alleyway with an amused smirk on her face. The three Sailor Scouts present went for their Prisms, then realized there were people around. "Don't bother. You won't be able to handle me without your powers and you can't transform in public. As for you," She said, directing her gaze at Atem, "Fork over that Slifer. I'm being nice, asking first. I suggest you don't find out what nasty is," She warned.

"If you think I'm going to hand over Slifer, you're out of your mind," Atem shot back, pocketing his deck. Neflite smiled.

"Fine then. If that's way it's going to be," She said. Without warning, she lashed out with a powerful kick that sent Atem sprawling. She ran to make another move at him when…

WHAM!

Neflite found herself woozy, seeing stars as she tried to stop seeing three of everything. Joey had smacked her right across the face with his Duel Disk. He smiled for a moment as his good work before being jumped by another figure.

"Jaedite!" Rei growled. She launched into the air only to be brought down by a spell Jaedite slung at her. "Unh…" She groaned. Serena saw her comrade fall and shouted out to her.

_Oh man! We can't transform! Those two are gonna kick our butts if we don't use our magic tho- wait…_ She stopped as a memory flashed through her head.

"_Those were Duel Monsters brought to life by Bakura's shadow powers… back then we used dark shadow magic to bring the creatures to life…"_

"Dark shadow _magic_? It might not be the exact same, but…" She murmured. Deciding to act on her instinct, she knelt next to Atem. "I have to borrow this," She said, despite Atem not being able to hear her due to being knocked out. She removed his deck from its pocket on his belt, fanning through it and picking out a few cards. _This had better work_, she thought.

"In the name of the Moon, I summon Slifer the Sky Dragon, Dark Paladin, Valkyrion the Magna Warrior, Chimera The Flying Mythical Beast and Royal Straight Slasher!" THAT got everyone's attention. Even more gaze-grabbing was the monsters that emerged straight out of the cards. "I'd suggest going back to wherever you came from. And I'm being nice, asking you," She mimed. Neflite and Jaedite looked at each other.

"Well? Summon the damn thing!" Neflite said.

"I can't! I left it with Bakura so he could do some deck-building around it for me!" He shot back. Neflite put a hand to her forehead. "And where's YOURS at?" He added.

"He hasn't even GIVEN me mine yet. He was too busy feeding his ego beating Beryl to fix the deck I'd made for it," She complained. Jaedite sighed. "We'll be back, brats," Neflite said. Serena smiled.

"Sure thing. And thanks for all the free info, Neflite," She added cheerily. Neflite cursed as the two disappeared. Serena shook her head. "They can be real idiots sometimes," She commented.

"OK, so we can't use our Sailor powers but we can call down ten-story tall dragons on people?" Rei asked.

"They blend in," Serena answered. Rei thought it over, realized she was right and shrugged.

"Ugh… what in the name of Ra happened?"


	12. Get Your Game On!

An author's note presented by… the author. Unheard of, I know:

I recently realized that I've been confusing Neflite with Zoycite and writing Neflite as a female. However, gender changes (such as Zoycite's) have been made in transit from one depiction of SM to another, so rather than going back and fixing it all I'm just forging ahead with Neflite as a girl.

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"Well, that certainly is… interesting," Atem said. The small group that had been present at the tag-team duel had met back at the game shop with Lita, Yugi and Mina at around 6 PM. Serena has just recounted to everyone not present the events leading up to the fight with Neflite and Jaedite, then told Atem what had happened while he was knocked out. Atem ran his fingers through his spiky hair with a perplexed look on his face.

"When people like Bakura and myself Summon monsters like that, it's of the same shadow origin as 5,000 years ago. You, however, drew the magic from another source. I'm not so sure it is entirely safe to make that a regular habit, Serena," Atem said finally. Serena cocked her head.

"Why? It worked, and the monsters didn't disobey me or anything," She argued.

"I say this to protect you. Using your power drawn from the light of justice and the energy of your Prism to summon monsters that live within the shadows could begin to corrupt it. And yes," he added at the questioning look on Serena's face, "all Duel Monsters come from the shadow spirit world."

"So, no dipping in to the Shadow Realm with our Prism powers. Got it," Rei said. "So… I lost a game. I know Mina lost one. How's everyone else faring?" She asked.

"I defeated a graduate of the Duel Academy to win a locator card, but did not take his rare card. He had some sort of bond with it, I couldn't bring myself to break it," Amy said.

"Atem and I tag-dueled Rex Raptor and Weevil Underwood and beat 'em despite a couple underhanded tricks," Serena said proudly. Yugi sighed.

"Go figure… those two may never play straight," He said disappointedly.

"We beat their asses afterward," Rei added cheerfully, indicating Joey. Yugi opened his mouth, thought for a moment, thought better of it and closed it again.

"Well, at least we've got progress on all levels. Plenty of players have been completely eliminated already, and the ones that remain either have nothing to lose or will be more confident to bet. We could go out and see if-" A knock on the door, rather frantic judging from the force and repetition, interrupted Atem. Solomon looked to Yugi, who nodded and answered it.

"Can I- Jaden?" Atem was shocked. The last time he'd seen Jaden was technically during their duel with Paradox, but not counting the time travel Yugi had last seen Jaden running head-first into him on the way to his Duel Academy sorting when Yugi had given Jaden his Winged Kuriboh. The boy had matured into a respectable young man since then; he was taller, his hair was grown out slightly and he looked less like the boy late for class and more like the man ready to take on the world.

"Uh, yeah. Hey Yu…gi…" Jaden's eyes widened as they darted between Atem and Yugi, the latter of whom grinned. "I'd ask, but there's really not a whole lot of time to talk. There's some really weird people trying to get into KaibaCorp. They kind of already knocked out the security, some type of spell from the looks of it. Made the area clear out quick. I heard something about satellites and energy draining," He said.

"Sounds like typical Negaverse activity to- oops," She stopped as she realized that someone who wasn't exactly in the know was in the room. The Scouts all looked at each other. "Erm… I mean, sounds like something we need to check out," Serena tried to cover. Atem smiled.

"I think it's alright, Serena. He's a friend, and we could use all the help in this matter we can get," He assured her. She thought for a moment. They'd already revealed their secret to four different people in Solomon, Yugi, Atem and Kaiba. Could they really just start telling anyone and everyone that said they wanted to help? Those who knew about it knew from dreams; they hadn't been told by the Scouts except Kaiba, and he'd already suspected that the girls weren't normal. But this new kid…

"Er… Can I get a word?" Serena asked Atem. Before Atem could answer, she grabbed him as well as Luna, who'd been seated comfortably on the lounge table, and whisked them upstairs. "Our powers are SUPPOSED to be a secret. Ever seen Power Rangers? The only reason you, Yugi and Kaiba know is because you had a vision and Kaiba already suspected by association. He may be your friend, or ally, or whatever, but none of us know him," She whispered.

"Serena, if we're going to fight together we need to know everything possible about each other. Jaden is an excellent duelist and person; we've fought side by side before. If he joins our group to combat Bakura, Beryl and the others, what are you going to do? Call Beryl, Neflite and Jaedite estranged family that you have a grudge with? In times where you need your Sailor powers, will you honestly be able to find a way to transform without him seeing?" Atem shot back hotly. Serena was taken slightly aback, but stood her ground.

"I don't know, OK? All I know is that our powers, our identities, are supposed to be a carefully guarded secret. We can't just go around telling everyone willy-nilly that 'Oh hey, I'm Serena Tsukino! In my spare time, I masquerade as Sailor Moon and fight the forces of evil!'" She replied. Luna cleared her throat, catching both party's attention.

"If I may, Serena, I might remind you that the reason your powers are so carefully guided is for the safety of others. If, for instance, your little brother or your mother knew about your powers, the Negaverse would easily be able to use them against you. _They _have no way of fighting back. However, I believe Beryl and co. will have a much harder time capturing someone as strong as Jaden," She told the Moon Princess. Serena stopped to consider this.

"I just don't want anyone in any more danger than they have to be," She said finally.

"Well, the longer we stand up here arguing, the more people the Negaverse has time to hurt," Atem pointed out. Serena sighed and looked to Luna, who nodded in agreement.

"Alright, fine," She said. Everyone looked up as Serena and Atem descended the stairs.

"Finally. I thought you guys had gone up their for a steamy makeout session or something," Lita teased, causing Serena to blush hard. She grinned, then turned back to Jaden. "So yeah, that's the basics. We're the good guys, they're the bad guys," She concluded. Serena developed a raging facial tic.

"You mean you told him everything?" She asked. Lita nodded. Serena and Atem looked at each and promptly did a true anime-style fall over. "OK, so apparently screw our whole secret identity thing," Serena sighed. "So, KaibaCorp huh? Well, what're we waiting for?" She asked. Everyone shrugged, those who could transformed and they were off.

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"Well, this is easier than I thought it would be," Jaedite commented. He and Neflite had already made it past the security guards, having drained some life energy in the process. Now they were busy making it past Kaiba's cameras, something they appeared to be accomplishing quite easily. The pair of eyes and the shadowy figure they belonged to that followed them disagreed with that particular statement, though.

"OK… we can use the elevator, which is sure to trigger an alarm since we can't get into it without a keycard. Or, we could hit the stairs," Neflite said.

"Option three would be explaining to me what the hell you think you're doing breaking into _my _personal business headquarters," Neflite jumped and spun around, trying to locate the voice. Jaedite eyed the darkness warily but was not so easy to startle.

"Afraid to show yourself, Kaiba?" He challenged. Seto Kaiba smirked in the black shadow that shrouded him from the two would-be intruders. Afraid? He'd been around the block with the whole dark magic voodoo crap before. He'd seen far worse than a couple of goons stumbling through his tower, avoiding cameras only to walk into every tripwire laser he'd laid.

"From the look of your companion, I wouldn't talk about being scared," Kaiba said calmly. Jaedite turned his head to look at Neflite and Kaiba struck, landing a solid right cross to Jaedite's cheek. Jaedite snarled and tried to fight back, but realized he couldn't see his target. Neflite realized that their assailant had the advantage with the lights on and focused, trying to find some sort of switch or something. A solid hit, a kick from the feel of it, to the stomach thwarted that search as she was sent to the floor.

"Jaedite, this is not a wise fight," She groaned as she got up. She heard her partner hit the wall and winced. A voice in her ear made her jump again.

"You're getting your asses kicked, aren't you? By who, the Scouts?" Bakura asked with far too much sadistic glee in his voice. Neflite growled. She'd put the damn earpieces in place for communication, not ridicule.

"Actually, it's Kaiba. The whole room is d- never mind. That makes- never mind," Neflite stopped cold. Good news: Jaedite had found the light switch. Bad news: the Sailor Scouts and Atem's entourage was behind them while Kaiba faced them. In addition to an already bad situation, it looked like some new kid had joined what Neflite had sarcastically taken to calling the Sailor Moon Justice Force.

"Especially in these odds, I would suggest leaving. And that's if you manage to leave without getting destroyed by them," Kaiba added smugly. The two villains looked from side to side, calculating, thinking of any possible escape.

"Tell you what. If I can beat you in a duel, you let us go," Jaedite challenged Kaiba. Kaiba grinned.

"I have no need to waste my time dueling trash like you when I can just have Atran-"

"I swear to Ra, Kaiba, you're doing this on purpose now," Atem said as Kaiba mispronounced his name AGAIN.

"Sorry. When I can just have _Atem _and his friends take you out," Jaedite's face fell as his gamble failed.

"Well… with this many of you in here, if it comes to a fight half of this floor of the tower will be annihilated! Lots of records gone, computers destroyed," Neflite pointed out.

Kaiba considered. That was a good point. He narrowed his eyes at the pair and looked at Atem, who shrugged. "Get the hell out of here before I change my mind," He growled. The pair turned and looked at the venerable force behind them, who after a moment's hesitation parted to let them pass.

"…This isn't the last you'll see of us," Jaedite threatened as they backed out of the doors. The pair calmly walked away from the tower and Jaedite sighed. "We just left our pride back there, Neflite," He said.

"Yeah. We did. Beryl's going to be furious and Bakura will be too busy laughing his ancient ass off to worry about it. I seriously wish there was some other dark being that knew about this ancient Egyptian stuff," Neflite agreed.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"So what the hell're YOU doing here?" Kaiba asked as the offenders left. Yugi sighed.

"You're welcome, Kaiba. You do realize that if it came down to it, Jaedite WOULD have started destroying things in here by hurling crap at you with his telekinesis?" Serena asked. Kaiba was silent. "Thought so."

"I saw the two of 'em take out your guards," Jaden explained. "I knew Yugi was around and didn't want to go in alone. I didn't' know he had superhero friends with him," He added with a laugh.

"You're that Jaden Yuki kid, aren't you? The Slifer Slacker?" Kaiba said, turning his attention to Jaden.

"Slifer Slacker?" Atem echoed. Jaden smirked. This was going to be rich.

"Mhm. At Duel Academy, students break up into three dorms based on their ability as judged in their Entrance Duel; Slifer Red, Ra Yellow and Obelisk Blue. Blue is for the top-rated players. Red is for the ones that sucked and barely passed. Or, in my case, got stuffed in because the examiner got salty," Jaden added. The Scouts covered their mouths to hide the amused smiles, Joey's mouth was hanging open and both Moto brothers just stared.

"Really, Kaiba? Had to get a shot in somewhere, huh?" Atem asked, astounded. Kaiba smirked.

"My school, my rules," He said. Atem shook his head and sighed.

"Well, at least we averted a disaster here," Serena said. She shuddered inwardly at the thought of the Negaverse gaining control of Kaia's satellites in orbit. They were designed to track Duel Disk data, but it would be all too easy to reprogram them to begin draining energy from everyone on the planet simultaneously. Atem nodded.

"You should retire for the night. Another bright day of dueling ahead of you tomorrow," Kaiba suggested with a small smirk. Serena nodded. It sounded like a good idea despite the events of the previous night. "Try to keep the gigantic dragons and superhero magic to a dull roar tonight, will you?" Kaiba added dryly as he parted ways with the group. Serena smiled slightly and nodded.

'Alright then. And Ateko-" Atem's eyelid twitched. "Watch your back tomorrow. You never know what corner I might be around," Kaiba said with a grin.

"IT'S ATEM!" Atem shouted at his retreating backside.


	13. The One Where Serena Screws Up

'So. You couldn't even beat ONE MAN in a fight?! How pathetic have you two become in my absence?!" Beryl roared. Both Neflite and Jaedite gazed every which way except for at their queen. "Ugh. I'm beginning to think putting you two back under my service was a mistake," She spat. Bakura snorted.

"Warriors are only as good as their leaders, and so far as I can tell you've no better succeeded in destroying your enemies and accomplishing your goals than they have," He said with an infuriating smirk on his face. Beryl wanted so very badly to stride across the room and knock that look off his face, but she knew that without him their plans were lost.

"Here," Bakura said, holding out his hands. "I've retooled your decks to make maximum use of the Wicked God's powers. Do NOT lose these cards; in the hands of the inexperienced, things can go horribly wrong," He warned as the two underlings slid the decks into their Duel Disks. They both nodded. "Now go out and find someone a little more in your league to duel. Get locator cards, forget the rare cards unless it's something good," He instructed. Neflite and Jaedite nodded, turning around and leaving the room.

"And what of you and I?" Beryl asked. Bakura grinned.

"The same thing," He answered shortly before following the others out.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Serena yawned as she walked into the game store to meet with her friends. They'd agreed to meet every morning just to plan out who was going where as to not be caught alone by the Negaverse's inhabitants. She waved to Yugi, Atem and Mina as she walked by, sitting on the lounge couch. "Whatcha doin there?" She asked. Atem had just set his deck on the table.

"Just a friendly, non-tournament match with Yugi to warm up," He said with a smile. Serena grinned.

"Mind if Mina and I join in while we wait for the others? It can be you two against us," She asked eagerly. Yugi shrugged.

"Sure, why not?" He said, walking around to Atem's side of the table. The duel was fiercely fought, and Atem was forced to pull some of his best moves to take it. The duel had no sooner ended than the bell on the door rang to announce the arrival of the remaining Scouts with Joey hot on their tail.

"Hello," Atem greeted them with a wave, moving to the side so that everyone could find a comfortable seat. They wasted little time in splitting into three groups: Joey, Mina and Lita would cover the business district, Atem, Serena, Luna and Rei would head out around the waterfront and the rest would stick relatively close to KaibaCorp. "Alright then. Let's go," Atem said. He began to leave, then turned around. "Serena, reach me my deck if you please," He asked. She nodded and gave him the cards, which he slid into his Disk.

"Over there is where I first dueled against Slifer," Atem reminisced as he passed the area where his duel with Strings had taken place. His head turned as he heard a gasp.

"Atem!" He turned around completely and smiled at the familiar face of Rebecca Hawkins. "How are you? I see you've got a girlfriend now," she added with a slight pout at the sight of Rei. Serena burst out laughing at the blush on Atem's face.

"She's, uhm, not my girlfriend. Just a friend," Atem said, giving a sideways glance to Rei, who was giving Rebecca a serious fisheye. "Anyway, I see you're part of the tournament," Atem changed the subject, indicating Rebecca's duel disk. She nodded, then looked at the Disk on Rei's arm.

"How about we have a match, eh?" She challenged the Scout. Rei's eyes narrowed and she nodded as they two raised their Duel Disks. Serena turned to Atem.

"Stay on the sidelines for her, I'm gonna go grab something to drink," She said. He nodded and called after her to be careful as she rushed off. She was almost to one of the local restaurants when a voice stopped her.

"Hello, Serena," Serena stopped cold as Neflite casually walked toward her, dressed in street wear rather than her usual outfit. "How about you and I have a little duel for Battle City, eh?" She said. Serena balled her hands into fists, ready to fight. "Oh, relax. If I'd wanted to attack you I'd have done it by now. When have you known me to be subtle?" She added. Serena considered. She was right; Neflite was always straightforward in fights.

"So, just a regular duel, huh? Alright then. But no tricks outside the Duel! No cheating, no going to different dimensions, nothing of the sort," She said firmly. Neflite nodded and raised her disk, Serena following suite.

"You actually trust her word?" Luna wondered as she hopped off of Serena's shoulder. Serena frowned, shrugged and drew her hand.

"I'll take the…first…huh?" Serena blinked at the cards in her hand. _What the… _She thought. These cards weren't her Gladiator Beasts. It clicked as he eyes came across Gamma, the Magnet Warrior.

"_Serena, reach me my deck please"_

"Oh, crap," Serena said as the realization hit her. She'd handed Atem the wrong deck. This wasn't her deck; it was Atem's! Neflite grinned at her from across the field.

"What's the matter? Bad hand?" She asked. Serena shook her head and realized that she would have to play this duel with Atem's cards. "Well then, make a move already!"

"Alright, fine! Uh… Gamma, the Magnet Warrior in Defense Mode!" A red, metallic creature with a magnet around its neck and "S" markings on its chest and "wings" rose to the field in a defense pose (1500/1800). Neflite was taken aback.

_Everything we got from our intel told us that she was using the Gladiator Beast archtype! What the hell? _She thought as Serena laid two cards down and announced the passing of turns.

"Alright then… I draw. I will Set a monster, set another card, and pass it back," She said. Serena nodded.

"I now play Beta The Magnet Warrior!" She announced as she drew. Another machine-like monster, this time colored gold with "horns" made of a magnet and clutching two other magnets rose (1700/1600). "I attack with Beta!"

"Spirit Reaper cannot be destroyed by battle," Neflite smirked as her facedown Spirit Reaper flipped (300/200) and survived the assault. Serena frowned and passed.

"You won't be getting to my Life Points for a while, so you might as well just sit back and enjoy my moves," Neflite said as she drew. Serena cocked her head and furrowed her eyebrows. "You'll see what I mean. I place another monster facedown and pass," She said. _Soon, I will be able to unleash darkness upon her and then she'll be helpless! Although… she seems to be on the ropes already. Her plays have been relatively weak…_ Neflite shook her head, trying to shake off the feeling that something was wrong.

"What did she mean by that remark?" Serena wondered partially to Luna, partially to herself. Luna shrugged best as a cat could. "Why are you even here? You obviously won't be able to get into Kaiba's satellite controls; we stopped you once, we'll do it again. So why are you still here? And why are you dueling of all things?" She asked aloud.

"…It was part of a bargain," Neflite said after a moment. Though he'd essentially revived the Negaverse task force and given them another chance at best the Sailor Scouts, Neflite honestly didn't mind throwing Bakura under the bus a bit here. "Bakura, the ancient Thief King used an old Egyptian ritual to revive Queen Beryl after you destroyed her in your final battle," She said.

"What the hell did he have to gain from reviving a force whose power rivaled that of his own?" Serena asked.

"It was actually quite simple. His repayment, his demand for reviving Beryl was that she assist him in destroying the Pharaoh, Atem. Initially, Bakura had been after the Millenium Puzzle to control the Pharaoh's power. When it was destroyed and Atem because his own person, the failure of an enemy went searching for another way to get Atem's energies," Neflite said.

"The Negaverse's work with energy draining for Metalia," Serena realized. Neflite nodded.

"He revived Beryl essentially to use her to his own ends. Information on his grand scheme is on a need-to-know basis, but he wants us to be in the finals of this stupid tournament," she spat. Serena arched an eyebrow.

"Sounds like you guys don't exactly like your new boss,' She noted. Neflite snarled.

"He is no boss of mine, and quite frankly the only reason I'm telling you this is so you have extra reason to beat his ass when the time comes. But for now, we need him to destroy _you_," Neflite finished with a smirk.

"Hm… well, you'll have to get past me to get your locator cards, so you can just give up on that," Serena said as Neflite drew. Neflite looked at her drawn card and grinned.

"We'll see. I set another monster, another card and pass," She said.

"Alright. Here we go! I summon Alpha, The Magnet Warrior!" Serena said as she drew. Neflite laughed as another metal warrior with magnets on it hit the field (1400/1700).

"What's next? Refrigerator Warrior followed by Child's Drawing?" She taunted. Serena simply smiled and looked at Neflite.

"Nah. What's next is a combination! You see, when all three of these Magnet Warriors are on the field, I can reconfigure them into the ultimate Magnet Warrior. Valkyrion, that is! In attack mode!" She said as the transformation began. Beta's wings broke away while the ball joints that made up Gamma's shoulders met with Alpha's left arm and Beta's right arm.. Gamma's face changed into a more fierce-looking head and locked on to Alpha's torso, which then locked into Beta's right leg and Alpha's left. Beta's wings attached to the back as it floated to the ground (3500/3850).

"What is this, Voltron?" Neflite wondered. Serena laughed out loud.

"Nah. This is Valkyrion, the Magna Warrior! I'll set a card and…" _Hm, _Serena thought. _I could attack her facedown monster, but if she was telling the truth it's probably some other invincible card. Plus, she could use one of her facedown cards as well. _"I won't attack. Your turn," She said.

"Very good. But if you won't come to me, I'll bring the fight to you. I Flip Summon Scab Scar-Knight!" An ugly looking monster that looked as if it was hewn from rough rocks came to the field, it's pupil-less white eyes fixated on Valkyrion (0/0). "I'll activate Spirit Barrier, which brings all damage dealt to me by battle to 0 while I have monsters, then attack!" Neflite said. Scab Scar-Knight charged at the metallic mega-warrior, but Serena was ready.

"O…k…" Serena arched an eyebrow as the attack resulted in nothing but a scratch in Valkyrion's armor.

"You really are still clueless to the subtleties of this game, aren't you? No wonder they call you Meatball Head," Neflite smirked.

"Hey! Take that back!" Serena demanded. "And what're you talking about?" She added.

"When Scar-Knight battles, he leaves his mark regardless of the outcome. And yes, he can't be killed in battle. But the cool thing about him is… well, see for yourself," Neflite gestured. Scab Scar-Knight's suddenly turned red, as did the mark on Valkryion. Serena cried out as the hypnotized monster walked to Neflite's field, ready to serve its new master.

"Now that I have the monsters…" Neflite raised a card to the sky. "I sacrifice Spirit Reaper, Valkyrion and Scab Scar-Knight to summon The Wicked Dreadroot!" She yelled. She literally threw Valkyrion back to Serena, who slid it into the Grave and watched as an enormous, demonic creature with spiked armor and curved horns surrounding its green, muscular body flew onto the field (4000/4000).

"That's right, Serena! Meet the face of evil and tremble!" Neflite crowed at the terror on Serena's face. "It's all over for you!"


	14. In Which Neflite's Luck Sucks

Atem was beginning to worry. Serena had not yet returned after 20 minutes. "Rei, I'll be back with Serena. Good luck," He added. _Rebecca is here… if something happens, they'll be together_, he reasoned as he took off in Serena's wake.

"Ok… she went to get a drink. That Mexican restaurant is the closest place, and it's right about-" Atem was cut off by a voice.

"Well, isn't this a coincidence," Kaiba said dryly as the two met on the sidewalk. Atem narrowed his eyes. Was this planned? "I'm not interested in a duel at the moment. Primarily because I don't think you'd be able to even if you wanted," He added. Atem frowned and cocked his head. "Check your deck pocket," Kaiba told him impatiently.

Atem nodded and pulled the cards from their box. "See? I have my deck right…here…" He slowed down as the bottom card, Gladiator Beast Laquari, caught his eye. "Oh, no…" He said as he realized what had happened. Then he looked up at Kaiba. "How did you know?"

Kaiba smirked. "Because your deck is being used and you aren't the one summoning Valkyrion. Come on," He said, motioning for Atem to follow him. Atem's eyes widened. Serena had gotten caught in a duel with his deck? They walked a couple blocks further before stopping dead, both of them gaping in shock at the monstrous winged demon before them.

"Serena!" Atem called out. Serena's head snapped around and her expression turned from fear to relief.

"Atem, this isn't-"

"Your deck?" Kaiba finished. Serena looked at him, surprised that he was actually there. She nodded. "I can't cancel a duel just because you used the wrong deck; this isn't a fixed deck tournament. Carry on," He told Serena. Then he looked Neflite dead in the eye. "And mark my words; if she doesn't take you down, I will," He added.

Neflite smirked. "Still sore about your security being knock out last night?" She asked. Kaiba grinned.

"No. Still sore about getting your asses kicked last night?" He shot back. Neflite narrowed her eyes, thought for a moment and turned back to Serena.

"I attack with Dreadroot!" She declared. Serena's eyes widened as the beast reared back and viciously swiped at her. Neflite grinned. "Half of your Life Points in just one attack, Serena. How does it feel to- huh?" She asked stupidly. Serena's Life Points hadn't budged.

"I used a card that's stalled Yugi out of situations many a time, Kuriboh! I can discard it to avoid damage from one attack!" Serena told her. Neflite sighed and impatiently motioned to pass the turn. Serena nodded and, hands shaking, drew.

"She won't win with such poor confidence," Kaiba remarked. Atem nodded in agreement. "She isn't in that bad of shape. Three reversed cards and," Kaiba lowered his voice as to not let Neflite hear, "if I know your deck, one of those is probably Mirror Force," He added.

"Maybe. But lest you forget, I'm not the one using the deck. When I duel, my heart is in that deck. I respect and rely on each card with all my being. Serena's never even seen half of the cards in my deck. We showed it to her and her friends during their learning, but I doubt she memorized it. She will have to have faith in that deck if she wants to defeat the Wicked God," He replied.

"I…" Serena looked at her hand. There had to be something. HAD to be. This was Yugi's- no, Atem's deck! The deck that beat all three Egyptian Cod Cards! "I summon Gazelle, The King of Mythical Beasts in Defense Mode," She said halfheartedly as she laid down the card. The familiar brown lion-like beasts rose with a snarl (1500/1200). "W-what's going on?" She asked as the Dreadroot glowed with a blue aura. Gazelle was surrounded with the same light and collapsed to the ground (750/600).

"The power of Dreadroot is that it slices the ATK and DEF power of every other monster on the field clean in half!" She said, grinning. Serena's mouth fell open, and even Kaiba's eyes widened.

"That thing… wait a minute," Kaiba said. Atem looked at him. "You said that when you dueled Wicked God Avatar, it transformed into your monsters? Took on a ball form?" He demanded. Atem nodded. "So, it takes the attack and defense of other monsters to fuel it's own. Now we have The Wicked God Dreadroot, with 4000 ATK and DEF. Sound familiar?" He asked.

"…the same stats as Obelisk the Tormentor. And a sphere shape stealing points from other monsters… these things are dark answers to the God Cards!" Atem realized. Kaiba nodded. "And now Serena would have to play a monster with over 8000 points to match it," He said.

"There's not a card in your deck capable, is there?" Kaiba asked sharply. Atem frowned.

"If she could get Slifer… she'd still need 8 or 9 cards in her hand…" He muttered. Serena's upper lip trembled as she ended her turn.

"Dreadroot, attack Gazelle!" Neflite ordered. Dreadroot swiped a massive claw at Gazelle and with a weak growl the beast vanished. "Your turn," She said. Now Serena was shaking completely as she drew. Her eyes looked sullenly at her draw as she placed a face-down monster.

"Rinse and repeat," Neflite was crowing at this point as Big Shield Gardna disappeared. Serena drew again and Set again. This process repeated for two more turns, Wicked Dreadroot obliterating King's Knight and Watapon were destroyed.

"She's going to lose," Kaiba stated plainly. "She's got no confidence in herself, she's given up. Say goodbye to Slifer," He said bitterly. Atem closed his eyes; not only would losing Slifer be an immense loss, it would destroy Serena. After Watapon was demolished, Neflite passed turn again. Serena looked down as she drew again.

"Atem," Kaiba said. Atem was still lost in thought. "ATEM!" Kaiba roughly shook him by the shoulder. Atem's eyes snappped open. "Look!" He said sharply. Atem turned his eyes to Serena and stared in shock.

She was no longer trembling. Her face no longer showed even concern, much less fright. She sported a smug smirk and Atem sensed the same fierce energy he'd felt from Amy radiating from her. "What the…" Kaiba muttered.

"Had ya goin' didn't I?" Serena asked. Neflite narrowed her eyes. What was with the sudden turnaround in acting? She had a full hand, Serena'd been doing nothing but stalling and she'd proven that none of her facedowns could stop the God.

"You thought I was just dragging it out, huh? You think you're so big and bad and invincible just because you have some huge honkin' devil on the field? I think it's time to bring you back down to Earth!" Serena declared.

"You want to shut up and get on with your fail of a comeback?" Neflite asked impatiently. Serena grinned.

"First, I'll Set a card. Then I flip Heart of the Underdog!" She said. "Next, I play Card of Sanctity to put my hand size to six!" She continued. She held a card up. "I drew a Normal Monster, the Mystical Elf, so Heart of the Underdog gives me an extra draw!" She said. She drew. "Well, what do you know? Jack's Knight! Another draw!" She said. "I draw Queen's Knight… Winged Dragon, Guardian of the Fortress…Celtic Guardian…Finally. I've drawn De-Fusion!" She finished.

"Yay. You drew a bunch of useless cards. Now you have to discard for your hand limit," Neflite said boredly. Serena sighed and shook her head.

"You just haven't learned the subtleties of this game yet, have you?" Serena mocked her opponent, who snarled. "I flip Monster Reborn! You know what it does. I revive Valkyrion!" She declared. The metal warrior rose again (3350/3800 1675/1900).

"Another weakling," Neflite remarked with a fake yawn.

"Neflite, look at my hand," Serena told her. Neflite looked at it and shrugged. "I'm playing the De-Fusion card I drew to separate Vakyrion into its three components; Alpha, Gamma and Beta!" Kaiba's mouth fell to the floor, recognizing the same play from his tag team duel in the previous Battle City with Yugi. Was she seriously going to…? (A/N: I know this is illegal in the real game, but it happened in the anime before)

"My warriors did their best the last time I played 'em. Now they're going to a greater cause. I sacrifice all three!" Serena announced. Atem, having watched this entire process, slowly began to smile. She hadn't been afraid; she'd been screwing with Neflite's head. Neflite had gotten so confident in Serena's lack of action that she thought the Moon Princess was too afraid to think straight. So confident, in fact, that she had gotten so caught up in obliterating Serena's monsters and making her squirm that she hadn't bothered to make a backup plan.

"I Summon Slifer, the Sky Dragon!" Serena called. Down came the dragon of legend, twisting and turning in the sky as it roared. Kaiba's face became stoic; the sight of Slifer reminded him of the losses Yugi had handed him with it. "I hold 10 cards in my hand, Neflite. Even with your evil God's effect, his power is more than enough (10,000/10,000 5000/5000).

"Impossible! I had you down to a sniveling mess on the brink of defeat! How?!" Neflite screamed, infuriated. Furious with herself for not realizing what was happening, furious at Serena for pulling it off and furious that she'd had the bad luck of running into Serena with the wrong deck.

"Hmph. Slifer, attack. Trump that evil bone pile with Thunder Force Attack!" She ordered. A bolt of energy from Slifer's mouth obliterated the Dreadroot (Neflite: 8000 7000) and Slifer broke free of the blue aura (5000/5000 10,000/10,000). "I discard four cards for hand limited (10,000/10,000 6000/6000) and end my turn," She finished.

Neflite grimaced, but grinned. Serena had drawn a lot of cards and her deck was quite thin. Meanwhile, Neflite's deck was full of monsters that couldn't be killed. She'd deck Serena out, that was it! "I set a monster and end my turn," She said.

Serena drew. "If you think you're going to use your Spirit Barrier and unkillable monsters to wait me out, you're sadly mistaken. I first summon Magician's Valkyria," She said. A younger version of the Dark Magician Girl appeared. "Then I activate Magical Dimension, sacrificing Valkyria for another Magician. The Dark Magician, that is!" She said. The Valkyria was encased in a coffin, which then opened back up to reveal the Dark Magician.

"Since the Summon was successful, the Spell also destroys one of your monsters," Serena added. Neflite cursed as Spirit Reaper was destroyed. "I played two cards, so Slifer has lost some strength (6000/6000 7000/7000 5000/5000) but it's still more than enough. Attack Neflite with Thunder Force Attack!" She said. Another thunderous strike hit home (7000 2000).

"Finish this! Atem, if you would?" Serena said. Atem smiled and stood aside her.

"Dark Magician! Dark Magic Attack!" They ordered in unison. The famed sorcerer leveled its staff at Neflite and fired a blast of black energy at her (2000 0). Neflite groaned as her Life Point readout flashed red in defeat. This was not good. So very much not good. Beryl was going to have her hide for this. And Bakura… Neflite shuddered at the thought.

"Fine! Take your stupid locator card," Neflite spat, tossing it at Serena. She turned to leave, only to bump into Kaiba. "Out of the way, Mr. CEO," She snarled. He smirked back.

"You owe her your rare card still," He said. Neflite froze. _Oh, crap. Oh, no. Oh, hell no._ "If you refuse, I'll disqualify you right here and now. And if what you say is true about wanting to be in the finals for your big _plan _or whatever, you'd better pay up," He said coldly.

"…Fine," She said as she handed Dreadroot to Kaiba, who gave it back and pointed at Serena. "Gonna make me do it, aren't you?" She muttered as she walked to Serena and shoved the card at her. "Ugh…" Neflite moaned as she took off to deliver the bad news.

"Serena… I need you to do something for me," Atem began. Serena raised an eyebrow. "Give me back my deck," He said with a grin. She blushed and nodded, trading back his deck for her own. Kaiba snorted.

"Well, that was fun and all, but I have business to attend to if you're done stealing decks," He said sarcastically. Serena rolled her eyes and sighed as he walked off. Serena started to head into the restaurant to FINALLY get that drink when Kaiba stopped.

"…Far be it from me to say it, but…" He paused for a moment. "Not half-bad for a beginner. Don't get cocky over one compliment. I expect to see you at the finals. The same to you, Amarten," He called over his shoulder.

"IT'S ATEM!" The Pharoah yelled, fuming. Kaiba grinned. This tournament was getting very interesting.


	15. Dark Side of the Moon

"I thought you said you were part of the tournament!" Atem and Serena heard. The pair had finally gotten those drinks Serena had went for and rushed back to the scene of Rei's duel only to find a very angry Rebecca.

"I said nothing of the sort! You challenged me, you didn't say anything about Battle City! I don't even have locator cards anymore!" Rei shot back. Atem sighed. He'd forgotten that Rei was out of the tournament when Rebecca had made the challenge.

"Ugh. What a waste of time," the granddaughter of Arthur Hawkins grumbled. Rei caught Atem out of the corner of her eye and turned around.

"Hey! Where the heck were you? You guys just abandoned me mid-duel, thanks. And besides, I thought this girl was some champion or something. Seems pretty immature for such an accolade," She complained. Atem and Serena relayed the series of events that had taken place, leaving Rei speechless.

"Wow. You must be pretty decent to use Yu- sorry, Atem, I keep forgetting," She added as Atem opened his mouth. "Anyway, to win like that with someone else's deck takes some skill," Rebecca said. Serena blushed slightly at the praise; she felt as though she'd barely pulled the win out.

"So wait a minute. You have one of the Wicked Gods now?" Rei realized.

"Wicked Gods?" Rebecca echoed.

"Yes, Rebecca. It's… complicated. Let's just say that things are going awry again just like the first Battle City, but even weirder this time," Atem said. Rebecca looked at him with questioning and concern. "It's better if you stay uninvolved," He told her. She shook her head fiercely.

"If you're going to be fighting evil or whatever, I wanna help," She said in an almost whiny voice.

"Oh no, God made two of 'em," Rei said in mock horror, staring straight at Serena. Serena pursed her lips. Rei was gonna pay for that remark later. Pushing that thought aside, she gave a derisive snort.

"Hell, Atem. We've told everyone else that knows you, why not her? Just because she's a girl?" Atem's eyes shifted. That was actually his EXACT reasoning; not to be sexist, he just didn't want to involve any of the girls that didn't have superpowers.

"I…er… I think we have a strong enough force as it is, that's all," Atem explained nervously. This could only end badly; two girls with fighting experience from fighting the forces of evil and a college student that could still handle herself versus one very cornered Pharaoh were not good odds.

"Yeah. You think I can't handle it or something? I fought Dartz's goons, remember?" Rebecca added, hands on her hips as the three advanced on Atem. The poor lone man put his hands out in a sign of peace.

"Look… I've already gotten you involved in my messes once with Dartz. This is our problem to deal with. It's fine, don't worry about-" Serena cut Atem off.

"Look, Atem. We need everyone to help. Just give her the details so we can be off," She said impatiently. Atem and Rei both gave her odd looks. That was very unlike Serena to be so bold and impersonal. As Atem gazed at her, he caught what he could have sworn was something… different in her eyes. Something was wrong, he could feel it.

"…Serena, you feeling alright?" Rei asked quietly as Atem explained the basics to Rebecca. Serena shrugged.

"Fine, why? I just want to get another duel in so I can get my sixth locator," She replied. Rei nodded, but still had her suspicions just as Atem. "You quite done yet?" She called over to Atem. He nodded and Rebecca looked at her and Rei in awe.

"Sweet! I'm friends with superheroes now," She said with a grin.

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"Hey! Bakura!" Neflite had hauled tail to find the Egyptian as soon as she'd lost her match. She finally found him in the middle of a duel, yelling out to get his attention. He held a finger up and continued play.

"I play Card Destruction to discard our hands, discarding two Graphas, play Monster Reborn on one, Summon Beige, return it for the other, play Gates of Dark World, and attack for the game. Locator cards and rare card," He said. His opponent stared in shock, slack jawed until finally he shut his disk and handed the cards to Bakura.

"Now then. What do you want?" He asked.

"Uhm…" Neflite didn't know how to put this in a way where she wouldn't wind up dead or worse. "I'll be blunt; I ran into Serena and dueled her," She began.

"Good. You knew her strategy, how did it go?" He asked.

"That's the thing. Atem and her had accidentally, ah, exchanged decks. She was using Atem's cards, and, uh, well," Neflite stuttered. Bakura narrowed his eyes.

"Tell me you did not lose," he hissed. Neflite gulped.

"I can tell you. Doesn't make it true," She said nervously. Bakura vibrated with rage as he advanced on her.

"YOU LOST DREADROOT?!" He roared. Neflite let out a squeak that Bakura assumed was an affirmative. He KNEW he'd felt a disturbance in the balance of power between the Wicked Gods. "Pathetic fool! And how many locators do you have left?" He asked.

"Just the one," She said. Bakura made to yell at her again but paused.

"Wait… you said earlier that she used Atem's deck to Summon monsters on you when you tried to take Slifer, correct?" He asked. Neflite, surprised at the sudden softening of tone, nodded. "So she used the power of her Moon Prism to do it. That's the thing that gives her the Sailor powers, right? It's closely connected to her?" He pressed.

"She's the Moon Princess. The link is inextricable," She replied. He smiled dangerously and gave a low laugh.

"Perhaps this with work in our favor after all…" He said thoughtfully. He saw the confused look on Neflite's face and sighed. "All Duel Monsters live in a place called the Shadow Realm. That is why the Shadow Games use real monsters. The Millenium Items were made to take power from the shadows and summon those creatures," He said.

"And?" Neflite pressed.

"Well, when your little Sailor Scout used her Prism to do the same, she essentially put shadow energy in it. It will wear away in time given inaction, but thanks to your poor dueling she has possession of a Wicked God. That card is full of dark energy," He explained.

"You're saying that it would essentially taint the Moon Prism?" Neflite asked sharply. Bakura nodded.

"The Wicked Gods draw evil power from one another. So long as I control at least one, I can use all of their energies. Sailor Moon used an immense amount of shadow energy with her Prism to have summoned Slifer, so I believe it won't be long before she is consumed with the dark energy that I control," He said with a grin.

"Serena will turn on her friends as the darkness takes ahold of her," Neflite realized. "And then…"

"Then I will pull her strings with the power of the Wicked Gods and put her to work for our ends. Once my plan has reached completion, you will be free to have your way with the girl," He said.

"Sounds like a plan. Shall we inform Queen Beryl?" Neflite asked. Bakura nodded and Neflite took off to find her Queen.

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"Hey, who's that?" Serena asked. She'd been practically dragging her group around their designated area, looking for another opponent. She'd even left Rei with Atem when the latter engaged in a duel with an unranked player who'd boldly challenged Atem despite his amateur experience. She'd come back around to see that Atem had won, so the four of them were now back on the prowl.

"Not entirely sure," Atem replied. The girl Serena was looking at was a blonde, wearing a light blue shirt and a denim skirt. She seemed to be on the lookout for opponent's just as Serena was. Serena ran ahead and yelled to get the girl's attention.

"Hey! You part of the Battle City tournament?" She asked. The girl looked surprised, but nodded after giving Serena a once over. "Well, so am I, so let's duel!" Atem and Rei exchanged looks.

"Since when is Serena so…demanding?" Atem wondered. Rei shook her head.

"She's not. That's extremely unlike her," She replied.

"Sure thing. I'm Alexis. And you?" The blonde asked. Serena smiled as they put distance enough for the playing field between them.

"Serena. Now let's get this started!" She said as the Disks activated. Alexis gave an amused smile at the spunk Serena showed and drew her opening hand.

"I'll start by playing Cyber Tutu in Attack Mode!" Alexis declared as a petite dancer with pink hair came to her side (1000/800). "I place two cards facedown and pass it over," She added.

Serena snorted. "Seriously? A ballerina?" She gave a bored sigh. "Let me show you how to REALLY duel! I summon Gladiator Beast Laquari in Attack Mode! Show that dancer some REAL moves!" She commanded. Atem looked to Rei and Rebecca.

"I feel it too, Atem. That dark aggression. That Dreadroot is having an effect on her," Rei said. He nodded in agreement and grimaced. How would they save her from the grasp of Bakura's darkness? Atem was snapped out of his thoughts by Rei's sudden expression change, as though she'd had an idea. Before he could even ask, she ran over to Alexis and began whispering in her ear.

"Hey! No coaching!" Serena protested. Rei rolled her eyes even as Alexis nodded, confirming that she understood what Rei was telling her.

"I wasn't saying anything about the duel, Meatball Head," Rei said. Serena eyes narrowed, but she turned her focus back to Alexis.

"Laquari is going to clean your Tutu's clock!" She said, pointing as the lizard bore down on the petite girl. Alexis grinned.

"Activate Trap Card! I play Doble Passe`!" She said. Serena rose an eyebrow as Cyber Tutu dodged out of the way, allowing Asuka to take the blow (8000 - 1800 = 6200). Her eyes widened as Cyber Tutu began to rush her.

"Hey! You can only attack on your- Ugh!" Serena protested as the dancer hit home with a pirouette kick (8000 - 1000 = 7000). "What gives?"

"When Doble Passe` is activated, both monsters that are involved in a battle instead take a direct shot at the opponent," Alexis explained. Serena frowned, but shrugged.

"Fine with me. At the end of my Battle Phase, my Laquari's effect activates, allowing me to-"

"Hold up!" Alexis interrupted. Serena growled. "I activate Pure Pupil! If I have a monster with 1000 or less ATK on the field, such as Cyber Tutu, I'm allowed to nullify the activation of an Effect Monster's ability. What's more, the monster whose effect was negated is then destroyed!" She said. Serena swore loudly as Laquari was blown apart.

"Alright, fine. A lucky first round, cool beans. I'll lay three cards facedown and call it a turn," Serena muttered as the cards materialized.

"We have to break the spell somehow," Atem said. Rei smiled.

"I have a plan," She said.


	16. A New Moon Rises

Alexis smiled as she drew her next card, which didn't seem to bother her opponent one bit. "I'll play Cyber Petit Angel!" She said as a pink puffball with wings appeared (300/200).

"For the sake of the Moon, would you stop playing like a six year old and play a REAL card?" Serena snapped. Alexis smirked.

"Fine. Petiti Angel's effect brings Machine Angel Ritual to my hand!" She said. Serena frowned. Ritual? She remembered being told briefly about the Ritual cards, but never dueled against them. "I'll then attack with Cyber Tutu!" She said.

"I'll activate Waboku to protect me from the attack," Serena said calmly. Alexis nodded, Set a card, and ended her turn. Serena grinned and drew.

"Alright, since you didn't like my Laquari…" She began as she summoned a monster. "Let's see how you play with Gladiator Beast Equeste! Attack with Charging Hoof Stomp on Petit Angel!" She demanded. The monster hesitated, as if trying to resist, Atem noticed and his eyes widened.

"No… Alexis! You must stop this duel!" He yelled. Rei grabbed his arm.

"What're you talking about?" She asked sharple. Atem tugged free.

"Serena has subconsciously created a Shadow Game environment as a result of the darkness consuming her. Whether she knows it or not I do not know, but this duel is now extremely dangerous," He said.

"How do you know?" Rei asked.

"Because Serena's monster doesn't want to follow its orders. Look," Atem replied, pointing to Equeste. Rei looked on in fascination as Equeste attempted to dig its hooves into the ground before being forced to charge down the Angel. Alexis braced for impact but didn't expect what came next.

"AHH!" Sbe yelled. She felt like her beating heart was being ripped into as the damage was dealt (6200 - 1600 = 4600). Alexis took a moment to regain her senses before looking up to Serena again.

"Equeste tags out for Murmillo, which kills Tutu!" Serena continued. Alexis shook her head.

"Activate Prima Light! This card takes Cyber Tutu all the way to the top, transforming it into Cyber Prima!" She said as a spotlight shone on Cyber Tutu, which began to glow and change until a different dancer stood before them (2300/1600). Serena nodded and laughed.

"About time you played a decent card," She remarked as she ended her turn.

"I'll play more than just that! I'll play Machine Angel Ritual! I sacrifice Cyber Prima to play Machine Angel Benten!" Alexis said. A woman in a white jumpsuit with a black cape and razor-sharp red folding fan rose up (1800/1500). "I'll then play Ritual Weapon! It only works on Ritual Monsters, but it'll raise Benten's ATK and DEF by 1500 points! (1800/1500 + 1500/1500 = 3300/3000)."

"Wow. That's a hell of a bonus," Rei commented.

"Benten, att…" Alexis stopped. She knew she was in a Shadow Game environment and she knew what such games had done to people like Zane Truesdale. Not only that, she'd felt what that last attack from Equeste was like, and that wasn't even too much of a hit. When Benten's special ability kicked in, Serena would be losing almost half her remaining Life Points. Would she survive such a strike?

"Come on, let's get this show on the road! You attacking or are you afraid?" Serena mocked. Alexis looked to Rei, who shrugged her shoulders as if to say "I have no idea."

"…I attack with Benten!" Alexis said finally. _I hope she's strong enough to stand this…_ She thought. She watched as Benten leapt into the air and slashed into Murmillo. Serena screamed in pain as the bladed fan cut into her, and to her horror Alexis noticed that it left a very real streak of blood in its wake. "Benten, stop!" She cried as Benten swung with her other fan as her ability kicked in. Another slice drew more blood from the other arm as Serena moved to protect herself (7000 - 3300 = 3700).

"Serena!" Luna gasped as the Moon Princess grasped her right forearm, attempting to protect the shallow cut. Everyone stared in horror as Serena clenched her teeth to steel herself through the pain and waited for Alexis' next move.

"I… I end my turn…" Alexis said.

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It had been happenstance that Kaiba happened to be within hearing distance when a scream filled the air. A female voice, by the sound of it. Whether due to pain or fright, Seto knew that screaming was probably not a good sign. It was also happenstance that Bakura and Neflite had been running to the source of the scream as well, causing the pair to collide with the elder Kaiba brother.

"Do you have something to do with that?" Seto demanded. Bakura smirked instead of immediately answering, which was a bad idea. Seto dropped him with a fist, shouldered Neflite hard into a building wall and grabbed Bakura by the collar. "What the hell did you do?" He asked.

Bakura struggled free from Kaiba's grip, but Seto was all-too familiar with the ancient entity's old tricks. He aimed a kick at Bakura's Duel Disk, sending his cards flying everywhere before he could use those Shadow Realm powers of his to get help. Bakura yelled an Egyptian curse before looking between Kaiba, the cards strewn on the ground, and the knocked-out Neflite. Kaiba smiled.

"Have fun with your 42-card pickup," He said smugly before briskly striding off to find the source of the yelling he'd heard. Bakura snarled as he began gathering his deck; it'd been smart of the man to disable his primary power source instead of trying to go blow-for-blow with him.

"What in the hell just happened?" Neflite asked dazedly as she picked herself up. Bakura snorted derisively.

"The usual; you were useless and Kaiba got lucky," He snapped.

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"What in the hell is going on here?" Kaiba muttered as he came upon the scene. In front of him raged a duel between Serena and a girl that he vaguely recognized as a top Obelisk Blue student. Two things disturbed him: One, Serena was bleeding from both arms, and two, he could feel the same sort of odd feeling that made his skin crawl when he'd witnessed Joey dueling Marik in the quarterfinals of the original Battle City.

"A damned Shadow Game…" He realized. Both players were injured; in addition to Serena's arms, he could see a bruise forming on the other girl's clavicle. "I'm not letting anyone get hurt anymore," He said. He stopped a moment to ponder precisely when he'd suddenly become any sort of compassionate, then passed it off to himself as simple security concerns.

"They can't very well hurt each other if their disks 'malfunction'," He said as he pressed a button on his personal duel disk. He smiled in satisfaction as that dark feeling disappeared along with the monsters and life point readouts. He furrowed his eyebrows as he contemplated attending to the duelist's wounds, but eventually retreated into an alleyway after deciding that they were big girls that could take care of themselves.

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"What the…?" Alexis wondered. The playing field flickered a few times. "What did you do?" She asked Serena.

"I didn't do anything! What did you- HEY!" She shouted as everything completely dissipated. "What the hell?"

"Agreed. What just happened?" Rei wondered. "Did their Disks just malfunction or what?"

Atem looked around before spotting movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned around and caught a very brief glimpse of a pair of blue eyes and a trench coat before the person whom they belonged to blended into the shadows of the alley. Atem gave a small laugh and smiled.

"I always knew you were a softie at heart, Kaiba," He said quietly. Rei turned and looked at him.

"What?" She asked. Atem shook his head and chuckled.

"Nothing. I'm just glad that the duel was stopped. Serena, are you- Serena?" He stopped cold as he realized Serena had vanished. "Alexis, where did she go?" He asked with concern in his voice.

"She ran off saying something about finding the jerk that interfered with our duel," Alexis replied. "She took off before I could even try to stop her. She did drop this on the way, though," She added. Rei gave a soft gasp as Alexis held up the Moon Prism. Rei took it and frowned.

"That's…odd," She said. Atem, Luna, Alexis and Rebecca all gave her looks of questioning. "Usually I can track any one of us through our Prisms by meditating with them on the bond they share with their respective Scout. But this time… it's like the bond somehow snapped," She explained.

"I may have an explanation for that," Luna piped up. Everyone looked down at the cat until Rebecca picked her up and set the cat on her shoulder. "Thank you. The Prisms from which the Scouts draw their power are pure relics of light. They are highly resistant to dark forces," She said.

"Then how was Amy brainwashed?" Rei asked.

"It wasn't her Prism they infected, it was her mind. In any case, I believe the Moon Prism has essentially refused to serve Serena whilst she is under the influence of Dreadroot. I don't think Serena dropped the Prism, I think the Prism was ejected from her dark being," Luna explained.

"So now what? We're down a Scout and Serena is missing and potentially an enemy?" Rebecca asked. Luna grew thoughtful and turned pensively to Rebecca.

"Well…yes, for the moment. But the Moon Prism needs a home. Unbound, if it falls into the hands of the Negaverse they may well find a way to drain its power for their own ends," She began. Rei looked at Luna, confused. After a moment of thinking, Rei's eyes widened.

"Is that wise? Or even possible?" Rei asked. Luna nodded.

"Perfectly so. Rebecca," Luna turned to the young champion, "we need, in essence, a temporary new owner of the Prism. It is," She added, taking the stone from Alexis with both paws and holding it outward, "choosing a new home now," she said. Indeed, the Moon Prism glowed as it neared Rebecca.

"…You've got to be kidding. I'm not a superhero, no way. I mean, I fought with Yugi and his friends to help beat Dartz that one time, but… that was just dueling. I…" Luna smiled even as Rebecca stuttered.

"The Prisms only react to what's already in your heart, Rebecca. Please, we have need of you in this troubled time. Think of what Yugi would do," She added. Rebecca bit her lip and stared at the glowing crystal.

"I…" Rebecca hesitated before finally grasping the crystal. Despite not having made the command, she began to transform into the new Scout. When the process was completed, Rebecca looked down in shock. She was decked out in the full Sailor Scout outfit, complete with the orbs in her hair and everything.

Luna smiled as she watched. Rebecca even looked a bit like Serena with her hair in pigtails, albeit much less hair and a bit smaller. Watching Rebecca take up Serena's power in her absence was almost like watching Serena transform for the first time. "Rebecca, will you take up this responsibility and power?" She asked.

"…Yes," Rebecca said after a moment, sounding far more confident. Luna smiled again.

"Then I hereby pronounce you, for the time being, the one named Sailor Moon."


	17. Battles in the City

"It HAD to have been Kaiba. No one else can just screw with the duel disks this way. Ooooh, when I find him… I'm gonna give him a piece of my Lunar Scepter!" Serena muttered angrily as she prowled the streets in search of the CEO of KaibaCorp. She clutched at her Moon Prism, only to find it was missing. "When did I drop my Prism…? Whatever, I don't need that thing to clobber him anyway," She said dismissively.

"Looking for someone?" Serena spun around to see the very object of her search. "I tracked you after your last duel," He said emotionlessly. Serena growled and made to charge him, but he jumped aside. She spun back to face him with anger etched into her face.

"You ruined that match for me! I would have won my sixth locator card from her!" She complained. Seto narrowed his eyes.

"First off, you can't prove that I had anything to do with your equipment malfunctioning and I am neither confirming nor denying that I did. Second, both of you were injured," He said, gesturing to her fresh lacerations from Benten's double strike. Serena gave a "humph".

"I was just fine, thanks. I've dealt with worse, being a," she lowered her voice, "Sailor Scout."

"Really? Speaking of which, it seems as though you've dropped your Moon Diamond or whatever it's called. You're acting extremely unlike yourself, Serena. I've not even know you but a day and I can tell," Kaiba shot back. Serena pondered that one for a moment. Come to think of it, she had been feeling a little more… aggressive as of late.

Serena dismissed these thoughts and activated her duel disk. "Confirming, denying, evidence or not, I know you're the one that cost me my locator card. You owe me a match!" She challenged. Kaiba thought for a moment.

_She'll create another Shadow Game… and if she does, monsters like my Blue-Eyes White Dragon could permanently injure her. On the other hand, if I win I can get that cursed Wicked Dreadroot card out of her possession and maybe save her life- or the lives of anyone else she might duel_, He struggled with himself inwardly for a moment. "…Fine. You want a piece of me? Let's duel," He said finally.

"Alright. Ladies first, so I'll draw and play a facedown monster as well as three other cards. Go," Serena said.

"Damn!" Kaiba swore as he felt the shadow energies already begin to surround them. _It's already happened… Damnit, I was hoping to maybe get this over with beforehand, _He thought. " I play Spear Dragon in Attack Mode!" He announced as a needle-nosed dragon emerged with a cry (1900/0). "I'll lay down two cards and call it a turn," He added. Serena frowned. Seto hadn't taken the bait and attacked.

"I draw and Flip Summon my Gladiator Beast Hoplomus, Special Summon Test Tiger and use its ability!" Serena said. The cat appeared before both monsters glowed and left the field. "Gladiator Beast Laquari hits the field with 2100 ATK now! Attack Spear Dragon!"

"I play Negate Attack!" Kaiba responded. Serena blinked a few times. Kaiba was playing defense early on… that wasn't like him at all. "Fine. I end my turn," She said.

"I…" Kaiba thought as he looked through his cards. If not for the current conditions, he could tear into her with his Soul Exchange and Blue-Eyes White Dragon. But especially with three face-down cards… not to mention the Shadow Game that made every attack very real. For all he knew, a White Lightning could burn half her face off. "I'll sacrifice my Spear Dragon for Luster Dragon #2!" He said. The emerald dragon roared as it appeared (2400/1400). "One more card facedown," He added.

Now Serena was just confused. Sure, she had face-down cards, but that had never stopped Seto Kaiba before. Why was he holding back now? She smiled as she drew. If he wanted to stall, she'd bring the fight to him.

"I'll Special Summon another Test Tiger!" She began. "I'll toss these guys to the Grave," She said, placing all the monsters on her field into the Graveyard. "And I'll summon The Wicked Dreadroot!" She declared. Kaiba clenched his free hand as the demon descended upon the field. "And now that he's out, your little dragon just got even smaller! I attack!" She ordered.

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"I'd say that's a pretty good beacon," Rebecca said suddenly. Everyone followed her finger until they saw The Wicked Dreadroot falling from the sky. "That's gotta be her. Come on!" She said. She still hadn't changed back from her Sailor form and was getting some odd looks from passers by.

They came up on the duel just as Serena declared her attack. "Another Shadow Game! Kaiba… KAIBA!" Atem yelled as they came within hearing distance. Seto heard his rival's call but didn't answer, instead steeling himself for the coming blow. With one massive claw Dreadroot cut through Kaiba's dragon, then continued on and smashed into Seto. The Kaiba brother flew several feet before landing flat on his back.

"Is that… all you got?" He asked through a grimace as he got back up. He shook his head to clear it, then looked back to Serena. "Come on, you ending your turn or what?" He asked impatiently.

"Yeah. I'd say I've done enough damage," She smirked. Kaiba frowned. He needed a card to take out Dreadroot… without hurting Serena. Even if he DID have a way to attack it, no card in his deck could hit 9000 ATK.

"Hey, Atem," He called over his shoulder. Atem cocked his head. "Want to wish me a bit of that heart of the cards voodoo you're always talking about?" He said wryly. Atem raised an eyebrow and stared. Even in the face of this evil God and staring down potential death if that thing got a direct hit, Kaiba was sarcastic as ever.

"Well, here we go. I draw!" Kaiba said. The moment he touched the card, before he even took it off his deck he knew it was what he needed. He smirked as he looked at it. "Heh. I play my entire hand facedown. Amongst those cards is one that will take down your God," He said. Serena looked uncertainly at Kaiba.

_Damn that poker face… I can't tell if he's screwing with me. But there's not a card in his deck that can reach further than 4500! No way he can take out my Dreadroot. He has to be bluffing_, She decided. But just to make sure… "I draw! And I'll play Gladiator Beast Darius!" She said. An upright armored horse appeared (1700/300 /2 = 850/150).

"You Normal Summoned a monster, so I'll use Cloning to give myself a defense!" Kaiba replied as a precise of Darius took shape in a defensive stance. Serena snorted and shrugged.

"Fine. Darius, attack that doppelganger!" She ordered. The horse again tried to resist, almost imploring Serena to rethink. She looked at it coldly and Atem's face fell at the sight. It was heartbreaking to see the Moon Princess, normally an icon of justice and peace, ordering her creatures to inflict maximum pain. Kaiba actually laughed as the clone was destroyed.

"Dreadroot, direct attack!" Serena cried. Dreadroot did nothing. "I said attack!" She shouted again. A "tch" noise from Kaiba took her eyes from the God to him. "What did you-" She stopped as a Spell card flipped.

"Command Silencer puts a soundproof wall between you and one of your monsters for a turn. It also allows me to draw one card," He added. Everyone on the sidelines breathed a sigh of relief.

"Atem, Kaiba's always been a power player. Why is he being so defensive now? Isn't that really unlike him?" Rebecca asked. Atem nodded.

"Kaiba is unpredictable, that's for sure. He knows he's in a Shadow Game and if I'm right, he's trying to play without attacking with any strong creatures. He doesn't want to hurt her," He said.

"Maybe not, but I want to hurt YOU!" Before anyone could react, Bakura jumped Atem from behind and knocked him to the ground. Rei and Rebecca made to attack him, only to be slammed by Neflite and Jaedite. "Get OFF!" Atem grunted, kicking the evil entity off of him. To his side he saw Rei run down a back alley to transform away from the growing crowd that had been watching the duel and were currently scattering. Rebecca, still in Sailor Moon form, was deadlocked in a test of strength with Neflite while Jaedite chased after Rei.

Kaiba shot a look at Serena, turned his head to the fight that had broken out and turned to her. "Your friends are in trouble, but you no longer care, do you? Dreadroot's influencing your free will, Serena! Look at yourself!" He said fiercely. She turned to look at the raging battle as Rebecca threw a punch to Neflite's midsection.

"…They're taking care of themselves, they don't need me for now. Besides, Rebecca has my Prism. They can handle the enemy, you and I have unfinished business!" She reminded him.

"Yes, Serena, that's it! Your friends can handle us just fine. Until I do this, that is! I summon Gra…pha?" Bakura leafed through his deck once. Twice. Three times. Grapha was missing. Where the… He snared as he figured out what happened. At the same time, Kaiba began to chuckle.

"Looking for something?" He asked, revealing the Grapha cards hidden away on an inside pocket of his coat. "You forget, thief wannabe, I'm the master of all dragons! Even your demonic drakes will ultimately belong to the one and only dragon tamer!" Kaiba said with a finality that surprised even Atem.

Bakura was furious. Kaiba had stolen the most powerful cards from his deck when he'd kicked it during their previous struggle. "Fine! I'll summon Snoww, Beige, Brron, Goldd and Silva!" He said even as the dark warriors appeared. Atem's eyes darted from one to the other as the two Scouts and he backed into each other.

"I call upon the Dark Magician, Buster Blader, Dark Magician Girl, Magician of Black Chaos and Black Luster Soldier!" He declared. He fell into massive concentration as he summoned the energy required for such a mass summon. Rei saw Atem fall to his knees as the Pharaoh became weak with fatigue.

"Rebecca, protect Atem! Mars Incinerate!" Rei shot a blast of fire at Neflite, who'd tried a sneak attack and had to throw herself to the side. Atem's monsters clashed with Bakura's with a mighty battle cry from both sides and Kaiba ducked as he saw the flame come his way.

"Don't worry, we're fine," Serena laughed as the fire dissipated before his eyes. So, they were inside some sort of bubble shield… "It was my move, I believe! And Darius' effect allows me to Summon Gladiator Beast Laquari! (2100/400 /2 = 1050/200)"

"Hold on! When you destroyed my clone, Flat LV 4 goes off, allowing both of us to play a Level 4 monster from the deck! I'll take Vorse Raider!" He said. The beast with an axe rose in Defense Mode (1900/1200 /2 = 950/600). Serena smiled.

"And I'll bring Bestiari to the party!" She replied (1500/700 /2 = 750/350). Kaiba hesitated, but held up a hand.

"…I'm sorry, Serena. Ring of Destruction to destroy Bestiari and hit both of us for its ATK!" He said. Serena's eyes widened as a choker of grenades exploded on Bestiari. Serena yelled out as the flame of the explosion licked at her leg and Kaiba grimaced as a stray piece of Bestiari glanced off of his shoulder (8000 - 750 = 7250 both). "Are you okay?" He asked as he instinctively moved to dodge a Moon Tiara Magic and Dark Magic Attack combo. Serena smirked at the pointless move.

"Fine. I end my turn," She said.

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Amy gasped as her "team" heard the sounds of what sounded like a war coming from a good mile or so away. She turned to Yugi, who held out his hands.

"I'm no fighter, Amy. Tristan might be able to help, but…" He said.

"What, you think I can't handle myself?" Tea demanded. Tristan put a hand on her shoulder.

"Tea, we're talking about people from an evil dimension with shadow magic, not the average school bully," He reminded her. She considered before nodding in agreement. "Well, Amy can definitely help out. You can transform… uhm, in there?" He said. She followed his finger and raised an eyebrow.

"A porta-potty? Seriously? Ugh, the life of a superhero. Superman doesn't deal with this, he has phone booths," Amy muttered as she entered the stall. A moment later, Sailor Mercury ran out, leaving the others to catch up.

"Eager to get to the fight or get out of the toilet?" Yugi asked with a laugh. Amy gave him a fisheye.

"Both."

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"Atem, doin' alright? Screw off!" Rebecca added, knocking away Brron into the waiting staff of Dark Magician Girl. She turned back to Atem. "As I was saying…" She said.

"I'll be fine. Just… give me a moment more," He said inbetween labored breaths. She nodded and turned back around to see a spear from Beige coming at her.

"Oh, crap," She said, putting her hands up. When the weapon didn't connect, she opened the eyes she'd squeezed shut. Amy was standing over her, Icicle Sword in hand, parrying the attack. A solid kick to the face sent the dark monster flying as Amy helped Rebecca to her feet. "Thanks for the save. Kaiba and Serena are in the middle of a Shadow Game and Bakura decided he'd have the Negaverse and his whole friggin' deck assault us," She explained.

"A Shadow Game?!" Amy asked sharply. Rebecca gave the short version of what had happened between Serena and Neflite. "I wondered why in the name of Mercury you had the Moon Prism," Amy said. Rebecca nodded. "Speaking of them, it seems like Kaiba's losing. Dreadroot's on the field," She pointed out.

"He's been playing really defensive, completely unlike his normal dueling. He thinks Kaiba's trying not to hurt Serena," Rebecca said, pointing to Atem.

"Is he gonna be alright? No offense, but you don't exactly look your finest," Amy noticed. Atem, having gotten to his feet, nodded.

"It took a bit to regain my strength after summoning all those monsters… I haven't done that much shadow manipulation in some time," He explained. Amy nodded and looked around. "Well, we have a brawl to fight here, let's get kicking," She said before launching headfirst into the melee with a Shabon Bubble Blast.

"Let's go," Rebecca said.


	18. Saving Posessed Serena

"What in the world happened…?" Atem wondered. He'd escaped the battle just long enough to get a look at the duel between Serena and Kaiba; both had taken damage while he was gone, and Dreadroot still stood tall over Laquari. Kaiba had somehow managed to bring Vorse Raider to the field, but his claim to have a card to kill Dreadroot seemed to be little more than a mind game as Kaiba drew. Atem opened his mouth to call support to Kaiba, but got knocked to the side by an unfamiliar face.

"…Queen Beryl, I'll assume," He said as he got up. The woman standing before him had red eyes and an evil face, which was twisting into an evil smirk as she nodded. "So. You were the tool Bakura revived. You're pathetic to think that Bakura cares anything for your plans," He spat.

"On the contrary, Pharaoh. I know he doesn't give a damn. I don't plan on keeping this partnership up any longer than I have to. That ancient failure is more annoying than all of the Sailor Scouts combined," She said, making a face. "But you stand in the way of me and the destruction of the Sailor Scouts, and for that you must be eliminated!" She said as she swung on him. He ducked and kicked out, which Beryl jumped to avoid. Atem was no superhero, but he wasn't a slouch either.

"People much worse than you have tried to exterminate me, Beryl. And so far, I'm still standing!" He said as he swept her legs out from under her. She leapt back up, narrowly avoiding a punch to the gut before taking one to the face anyway.

"Old hag," Rei muttered as she cocked her fist again. She gave a sideways glance to Atem. "Get over to the duel, back Kaiba up. It looks like he's gonna need the help," She said. "Mars Flamre Mandela!" She yelled, summoning the disks she'd used to cut Yugi from his bonds in the Negaverse and tossing them at Beryl. Atem nodded and took off toward the Shadow Game.

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"Kaiba!" Atem yelled as he came up on the duel. Kaiba had his new card that he'd drawn for his turn in his hand and turned his head to Atem upon hearing the cry.

"Save it, Atem! I have business to attend to. Serena, your God's power will be its downfall! I chose my Vorse Raider for a reason," He said. Atem frowned. What was so special about Vorse Raider? Good ATK, sure, but Dreadroot's effect dropped it below even 1000 ATK.

Atem's eyes widened as that last thought as memories flashed through his head.

_I play Shrink! Now that my Ryu-Kishin-Powered is weaker than 1000 ATK…_

_I play Saggi, the Dark Clown!_

"I see you realized what I did. Took you long enough, Atem," Seto said with a smirk. Hearing Serena growing increasingly impatient, he turned back. "Here we go! I play the Crush Card Virus! I need a Dark monster weaker than 1000 points to sacrifice for it, and your Dreadroot has weakened Vorse Raider enough to make it so!" He said.

"Crush Card Virus? What's that?" Serena wondered. Kaiba laughed.

"A disease that festers within a weak monster, eventually annihilating its host and infecting every enemy monster on the field, in your hand and in your deck stronger than 1500 ATK!" He told her. Vorse Raider exploded, sending a purple cloud over to Serena's field. Dreadroot stopped floating as the virus took effect, crashing to the ground in a cloud of dust before shattering. Serena's hand, full of high-powered Gladiators, was also forced to be discarded. All that remained was Laquari, now back to full strength and her facedown cards.

"NO!" Kaiba turned around sharply to see Bakura in a furious frenzy. "Kaiba, you prat! Without Dreadroot with her, Serena will go back to her normal state!" He yelled, practically dancing with rage.

"That was rather the point," Kaiba said, vaguely amused. Even as he spoke, he could feel Dreadroot's influence weakening. At the same time, the last of Bakura's Dark World forces were being dealt with and the Negaverse entourage found themselves facing an extremely angry group of Sailor Scouts, Duel Monsters and Atem.

Bakura growled and leapt at Kaiba, snagging back one of his Grapha cards. "You said you didn't want to hurt her, Kaiba?! That's fine! I'll do it for you!" He screamed as Grapha emerged with a roar. It turned to Serena, who was free enough from Dreadroot's spell to notice that the dragon meant to fry her. She screamed and Kaiba's eyes darted around.

"This is gonna hurt," He muttered. He ran full-bore and launched himself at Serena, who was sent the ground and out of the way of the dragon's attack. Kaiba wasn't so lucky; the dark energy blast sent him flying through the air, stopping only when he ironically enough hit a stop sign. He felt his consciousness waning even as he slid down the front of the sign, was vaguely aware of his name being screamed, then all was dark.

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"Kaiba!" Atem shouted as his rival was struck by Grapha's blast. A moment too late, Buster Blader decapitated it, Atem's other monsters having assisted the present Sailor Scouts in defeating Bakura's Dark World soldiers. Atem turned toward Queen Beryl with a fury only the likes of Marik, Dartz and Bakura had ever seen. Even she quailed under the radiance of righteous anger that he exuded as he advanced on her.

"Bakura, we are outmatched and outnumbered. This is not a wise fight to continue," She said. Bakura's eyes darted from one opponent to another, considering the odds before he finally agreed. He summoned his shadow powers again, this time to cause a dimensional rift.

"Whenever Seto wakes up from being cracked by Grapha, let him know that I'll be back for those other two dragons," Bakura threatened before they backed into the portal. Rebecca charged forward but Amy put out a hand.

"Not worth it," She said even as the rift closed. Rebecca chose not to argue; she knew in her heart that the elder Scout was right. Amy's attention turned from the current Sailor Moon to Kaiba, who already had Serena and Atem attending to him.

"Is he going to be alright?" She asked as they looked him over. He'd already been injured somewhat from Dreadroot's attack, but he pretty much looked terrible now. A laceration here and there, a few nasty bruises blooming on his body. "Seto, you in there?" Amy asked, peering down.

He groaned and opened his eyes. "Good. Follow my finger, eyes only," Amy instructed. Kaiba didn't bother talking back, choosing rather to do as told. "No concussion, luckily enough," Amy announced. "Give him some room," She told the group as Kaiba began to make his way back to his feet. He stood once, buckled at the knees, caught himself and stood again.

"Is… uhm… is the girl safe?" Kaiba head was still cloudy, but he was alive and that was more than some could say about having fought Bakura's shadow monsters. Everyone looked over to Serena, who was staring- no, glaring at the ground.

"…I'll go check," Rebecca volunteered before rushing over to her predecessor. "…Serena?" She asked tentatively. Following her gaze, she saw Serena giving The Wicked Dreadroot a hateful look. "Oh. Serena… are you alright?" She asked.

"No. I'm not alright in the least," Serena moaned. "I was a jerk to my friends, a bitch to people who didn't even know me and caused harm to innocent people. I'm supposed to be a hero, but I let a simple piece of evil magic take me. And now Kaiba's seriously hurt because he saved _me _from getting blasted," She said before she spat on the card.

"You didn't _let _anything happen. You couldn't have known what that card would do, what it was, the chain reaction between the shadow energy in your Moon Prism and the card…" Rebecca trailed off, unsure of how to console the girl she'd never even met until now. Rebecca saw a shadow darken the ground under her and looked up to see Atem.

"Kaiba will be just fine. He's a little worse for the wear, but he's ok. Well enough to give a few brief sarcastic remarks, a genuine thanks for making sure he was alive and yet again mispronouncing my name, anyway," Atem added with a small smile. He noticed that Serena was starting to cry and turned to Rebecca. "Go back to the others. Regroup with the rest of our company, tell them what's happened. We'll meet you back at the Sailor's hotel," He said. Rebecca nodded but hesitated.

"Wait. I think I'm done with this," She said, changing back to her normal clothes as she removed the Moon Prism from her neck. Atem grasped it in his hand and nodded, sending Rebecca on her way.

"Serena… this was not your fault. I've been where you're at right now," He said, taking a seat next to the girl. Serena sniffed and looked up, questioning. Atem sighed as the memories swept over him.

"_I play this Magic card, Exchange!" Rafael said with a sinister smile. Atem frowned, unsure of why he'd play it; they each only had one card in hand. Atem tried to shake the concern as they traded cards, Rafael commenting on how useless Necromancy was by taunting the Pharaoh yet again about his disrespect for the monsters he used._

"_What do you find so funny?" Atem glanced over his shoulder before looking at the card. "Oh no! Not the Seal of Orichalcos!" Even as he looked at the card, the Orichalcos stone around his neck began to glow. Atem tried to fight the increasing feeling of darkness welling up inside him, but finally he snapped._

"_I play the Seal of Orichalcos!" Atem made to put the card on his disk, but Yugi hung on to his arm. "What are you doing? Let go!" He demanded._

"_No! You can't play that card, it's evil!" Yugi pleaded. Atem ignored him and played the Field Spell, proceeding to burn away Rafael's Life Points by ridding himself of any monster he deemed too weak to keep; which in this case, this duel, was all of them. _

"It was only when I lost the duel, after Yugi had sacrificed his soul in place of my own that I realized just what I had done," Atem finished, having relayed the entire story to Serena. She sat mesmerized as he spoke, closing her eyes when he was finally done. "Rafael was right; there is darkness in all of us. But more importantly," he said, placing a hand on her shoulder, "there is light as well. Dreadroot brought the darkness out. It's your job now to bring the light back," He said.

"I… I suppose so. I think Rebecca is best off with the Moon Prism for the time being," Serena said. Atem stared at her, shocked. "I have a score to settle not with the Negaverse, but with that old white-haired ass Bakura. He's the one that dug those cards up, he's the one that gave Dreadroot to Neflite and he's the reason I was possessed. He's gonna pay, and I won't need anything but these right here to do it," She said with calm anger, indicating the cards in her duel disk.

Atem smiled. "Spoken like a true duelist. It seems as though you and Amy have a knack for the game that the other Scouts don't quite seem to. Lita and Rei are a bit too hotheaded and rush recklessly into things and Mina is the precise opposite," He commented as the pair watched the sun set above the lake. "You know, there are still quite a few strong opponents on the street. You might be able to win your sixth locator before the night is through," He suggested.

"Now that I'm not under the influence of Bakura's darkness, you mean?" Serena asked. He nodded. "Speaking of which… what do we do with it? Destroy it?" She wondered, looking down at the card. Atem frowned and picked it up. "Some beings have no light inside them… this is one of them. It would not be in our favor for Bakura to regain possession of it, but I highly doubt it will so easily be destroyed without consequence. We'll ask Kaiba to store it somewhere, preferably a remote area where no one will find it," He said finally.

Serena nodded. "Sounds good to me. Speaking of Kaiba… we need to find him," She said. Atem gave her an odd look. "I never got the chance to thank him for taking the hit in my place," She explained. Atem nodded in understanding and the pair took off for KaibaCorp.

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Seto Kaiba paced back and forth in his office. He was torn between rage, frantic panic and pain from his sacrificial play for Serena. That explained the pain. But the rage and panic came from an assault that had happened but moments ago. Queen Beryl herself had personally came into KaibaCorp headquarters disguised as a random duelist. She'd asked to speak to Kaiba on the pretense of wanting to exchange her "faulty" duel disk for a new one.

Seto's instincts had told him that something was odd about the request, but the disks were a new model and it was possible that there was a bug or two; several instances had been reported of life point readouts not loading, certain holograms looking odd, that sort of thing. He'd grabbed a new model and taken the elevator downstairs to find his floor secretary knocked unconscious and Beryl waiting at the elevator to hit him across the face, enough to send the already-weakened man into the elevator.

"I told the clerk I needed a new disk," Beryl had snapped. "I just didn't specify whose," she'd added cheekily as she quickly tossed him out of the elevator and shut the door. By the time he was up the stairs and to his office, Beryl was gone as was his duel disk, deck and six locator cards. On his desk was a note:

"Meet in front of Domino City High School at nine tonight and bring the Graphas." It was unsigned, but Kaiba could take a pretty educated guess. He growled for the fifth time in ten minutes and looked at the clock. "Six-thirty… two hours to decide," He muttered. He glanced again at his office phone. Yes, they owed him a favor for what he'd done earlier. But his pride was a very difficult thing to put aside.

Kaiba's head jerked up as yet again he could swear he heard the cries of his Blue-Eyes White Dragon. A year ago, he would have thought it was an illusion from the stress, but after everything he'd learned about his ancestry he knew it was more likely that it was no illusion. His most prized monsters, the dragons that had carried him through countless battles and stayed by him from the very beginning of his career were calling to their master to be released.

That thought made his blood boil over the edge of his pride. He reached out, snagged the phone and began dialing numbers.

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"Hold on," Atem said as the pair walked toward the KaibaCorp building. Serena stopped, having heard Atem's phone go off. Atem pulled it out and flipped it open. "Hello? Kaiba? Wait, wait, hold on. What now? …I'd say you're joking, but I highly doubt it. Let us in the main door, we're on our way. We'll settle this, Serena should be happy to help," He said. Atem put his phone back and swore.

"Looks like someone got to KaibaCorp before we did. They continued their assault, apparently, because he was attacked by Beryl. In addition, his entire Deck and locator cards are being held ransom for Bakura's remaining two Grapha cards," He told her even as they ran. Serena's mouth dropped, then curved into a wicked snarl.

"You're right. I'll be _more _than happy to knock some heads," she said.


	19. The Duel of Time

"So… what are you planning on doing, Kaiba? Bakura isn't exactly known for keeping his word," Atem said. He, Serena and Kaiba were all in the latter's office. Kaiba gave a small smirk.

"No, but I have his cards. Cards that he wants badly; the two Graphas and Dreadroot. He knows that if he ever, _ever _destroys my Dragons that he'll never see his again either. The both of us are rather forced to not try and screw the other over," Kaiba replied. Atem glanced at the clock. 7 PM.

"…Seto?" Serena began timidly. Kaiba turned and looked at her, his expression unchanging. "I… I never got a chance to say it earlier, but thank you for-"

"Don't worry about it. KaibaCorp has a company policy and impressive record of employee safety. Far as I'm concerned, you're KaibaCorp security for this tournament. Just enforcing policy, that's all," He said, trying to sound indifferent. Serena couldn't help but smile at Kaiba's horribly failed attempt to keep his tough image up.

Atem sighed. "I guess our best plan will be to just show up, see if Bakura brings his whole brigade and see if he wants a fight or a fair trade," He said. Serena held up a finger.

"What about the other Scouts? Or Joe-"

"I don't give a damn what has to be done, I am NOT going to owe _Wheeler _any favors," Kaiba interrupted vehemently. Atem smiled despite himself and Serena narrowed her eyes.

"Now you listen to me, Seto Kaiba. Your prized monsters, your childhood companions are in the hands of multiple people that have no problem doing anything and everything to get their evil way. You think Bakura is just gonna give you Blue-Eyes White Dragon back to you? Hell no. I guarantee he's got some trick up his sleeve. We need every person we can get to back us up!" She lectured, advancing on Kaiba and putting a finger in his face despite being shorter.

"Serena has a point, although she could do it without the finger pointing," Aten added. He pulled his phone out and dialed. The phone rang once. Twice. Three times. Finally, he got Amy's answering message. "That could be a bad omen," he muttered. "Amy isn't answering her phone. He dialed again. Rang once. Twice. "Hello? Joey? Weren't you supposed to meet with the others?" He paused. "…We're at KaibaCorp. We'll be leaving in about an hour for Domino High. How far are you out?" Another pause. " …You did what? Oh for… Do you even know the guy?" More listening. "You'd better hope so. Well, we'll see you shortly," Atem finally finished before hanging up.

"Apparently, Joey never met with the Scouts. They never showed. Joey assumes something's wrong, he's already headed this way," He said. Kaiba sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"What were you talk about at the end there?" Serena asked. Atem sighed.

"Joey, ah… kind of hotwired a motorcycle. He thinks it belongs to Valon, a former enemy of ours. He was under the Orichalcos' influence. Not sure how Joey knows it's his bike…" He explained. Kaiba snorted.

"You're right; he'd better pray it belongs to Valon and not some burly Hell's Angel," He said. "Although that fight would be rather amusing," he added as an afterthought.

Five minutes later they heard tires screeching to a halt in front of the building. Looking down out the window, they saw Joey pulling an amazingly smooth sideways skid to stop right next to Kaiba's personal car. "That mutt is SO damn lucky," Kaiba muttered as they watched him run in.

"OK, so give da rundown. What da hell happened?" Joey panted as he got off the elevator and pushed his way into the room. Kaiba raised an eyebrow, vaguely amused. Then his face turned stone-cold serious.

"Did anyone tell you what happened this afternoon?" Joey shook his head. "Well, what you need to know is that I stole Bakura's strongest monsters, Dragons as it happens, from his deck. He got one back, but I still have the rest. He replied by having Queen Beryl barge in here and steal my deck," He said.

"Wow. Seriously… Alright den. We go, find Bakura and kick his ass until he gives the deck up?" Joey suggested. Atem sighed.

"Bakura left a note. We're to meet in… an hour," Atem said, looking at the clock. Joey nodded, then thought for a second.

"So… What're we gonna do when we get dere? Just hand him da Dragons and hope he's feeling honest?" He asked with a derisive snort. For once, Kaiba agreed with him.

"I honestly don't know," Atem admitted. "I doubt Bakura will be alone. It will not be wise to engage in physical combat; not only will he have even numbers, he'll also have one Grapha and the rest of his Dark World monsters to Summon against us," He said.

"Well, Domino High is clear across town. We'd better get rolling if we wanna make it on time," Joey pointed out. Kaiba nodded.

"For once, he actually has a point. Joey, you have your bike. Rest of us'll take my car," He said. Everyone nodded in agreement and took off.

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"They had better show," Bakura muttered, leaning casually by the door of the high school. A snort from above him made him look up.

"And what the hell exactly are you going to do if they don't?" Lita was pissed. Not only had they been ambushed on their way to their hotel, they were now tied up on the sides of the clock tower, Neflite and Jaedite standing guard. Next to Lita were Yugi, Rei, Tea, Mina and Tristan. Beryl was in the small room directly below the clock itself.

"If they don't come. Sailor Venus will be the first to drop," Beryl answered. Around her was a red button that was wired to a small spinning saw resting on the ropes holding them on. One press of the button and someone was going to fall ten stories.

"Don't worry. As long as everyone cooperates, I'll have what I want and have no use for you," He said. As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he heard screeching tires and his eyes widened as of all people, _Joey _flew overhead on a motorcycle, the others shortly in tow in Kaiba's vehicle.

"Bakura! We're here! Release them and we'll talk business," Kaiba demanded. Bakura grinned.

"You really shouldn't make demands right now. I have your Dragons, you have mine. I have your friends and no qualms about doing whatever I have to do with them," He said.

"Yeah? You forget; I have The Wicked Dreadroot. And unless there's some spell on it to make in indestructible, I'd say we each have each other rather by the balls here," Kaiba shot back. Bakura considered this.

"True… I would suggest settling this the old-fashioned way, but you'd need your deck to do that," He taunted. Kaiba opened his mouth but was interrupted.

"I think I can solve that problem," Serena said, "Besides, I owe him a favor and you the ass kicking of the century," She added. Bakura shook his head.

"Just as Kaiba is currently unable to duel, I don't have my entire deck. However… Hold that thought," He said before leaping with inhuman ability to the roof. He made his way up the clock tower and began talking to Beryl. It seemed as though they were having a brief discussion.

"Alright then! Here's the deal! Beryl will duel in my place and you will duel in Kaiba's stead! However…" Bakura trailed off. Serena narrowed her eyes. "You will duel on this tower. Around the edges of the tower will be your friends, each tied onto the tower. Each of you will be wired to a device via your Duel Disks. This one," He said, holding up a wire even as Serena made her way up the tower, "connects to each of these boxes. The life points hit zero, it sends a signal that'll set these blades spinning," He said.

That stopped Serena's ascension up the stairs on the outside of the tower cold. Playing with her friends' lives like that? "…And if I win?" She yelled up as she continued her climb.

"Beryl's Duel Disk is wirelessly connected to the lock on that safe by the school entrance," Bakura said, pointing downward. Kaiba looked and ran up to the safe. "Hold you horses. If I see any of you tampering with that safe, I'll kill each of these Scouts at my whim," He threatened.

"How do I know you have my real deck inside that safe?" Kaiba asked. He had sufficient rights to be suspicious; Bakura was not known for his honesty.

"Can I finish please? Beryl, if you please," He said. She nodded and pressed a button specially attached to her disk and the safe opened. "Do NOT try to run off with your deck, Kaiba. Not if you value their lives," Bakura warned. Kaiba nodded and reached in, pulling out a small metal box. Inside was indeed his deck, his three Blue-Eyes White Dragons stacked on the top. Kaiba fought down the urge to make a break for it.

"Place the Grapha cards in that box," Bakura instructed. Kaiba gave a rueful smile and nodded. Of course, it made sense. To the winner would go all of the spoils. He placed the dark Dragons in and replaced the box, shutting the safe.

Serena jumped up to the top of the tower to stare down Beryl and Bakura. "How can we be sure you'll keep your word? Your track record isn't very good in that regard," She said. Bakura nodded.

"No, it certainly hasn't. But this game would be no fun if it wasn't a fair one. I'll tell you what: Jaedite, Neflite!" They looked up. "Get down there with their group and do NOT attack," He said. They tilted their heads in confusion but did as told. "I thought you might want some collateral," He told Serena before creating a minute portal that took him down to the front door of the school. He fished around in his pockets until he finally pulled out two revolver pistols. Everyone tensed and Bakura grinned.

"Calm down, fools," He said before pointing the guns at his two partners, whose eyes widened.

"What are you doing?!" Beryl demanded from the tower. Bakura sighed impatiently.

"Giving them collateral," He replied before handing one gun to Kaiba and another to Joey. "There. If something fishy happens, you'll be able to take down half of our number," He said before shoving the two Negaverse captains forward. The two newly-made gunmen grabbed the pair.

"Bakura…this doesn't need to end so violently," Atem said.

"Quit your bitching, Pharaoh. If your girl wins, all is well and your group will be free to go," Bakura said over his shoulder with a smirk before stepping back into the portal, warping to the tower again. "Let's start this up," He said, hooking Serena's disk to the death wire and flipping a switch on Beryl's special disk.

Beryl narrowed her eyes at Bakura. The collateral bit had not been discussed. She was angry beyond anger that he had put her best people in certain mortal peril should Joey and Kaiba decide they wanted to pull the trigger. She could feel the lack of power coming from the pair; they couldn't use their telekinesis to get themselves free.

Serena looked cold, just as she had in her previous duels. This time, though, it was not an evil possession. It was a calm, collected rage. She would save her friends and help Kaiba now, but she would get her hands on Bakura if it was the last thing she did.

"DUEL!"


	20. Joey The Not-So-Pro Stuntman

"I'm taking the first move," Serena said. "And I'll start with this monster," she said with a sly smile as she Set the card. "I'll lay two other cards down as well," She said as she finished up.

"I'll draw, then play Valhalla, Hall of the Fallen. Then I'll completely disable your entire deck! Valhalla allows me Special Summon a Fairy from my hand if I have no monster, so say hello to Archlord Kristya!" She said. Bakura laughed; Kristya did indeed completely ruin Serena's strategy.

"Oh yeah? What's so special about it? Murmillo will clean its clock!" Serena said confidently. Beryl chuckled at Serena's naivety. "What's so funny?" Serena demanded.

"Kristya prevents both players from performing Special Summons, brat. You won't be tagging in anything," Beryl replied. Serena's eyes widened but she quickly shook out of the shock. Now was not the time to lose focus. "Kristya, attack!" She ordered.

"I'll play Waboku to save my Bestiari," Serena replied. Beryl grinned.

"No Fusion either, my dear. Your deck is completely helpless!" She said. Serena grimaced as Beryl set a card and passed the turn.

"This isn't over yet! I'll play Smashing Ground to destroy Kristya! She won't do much good from- hey! Stop cheating!" Serena complained as Beryl put Kristya not in her Gravedyard, but on her deck. Beryl smirked.

"I'm not, 'Meatball Head'," She quoted. "When Kristya would be sent to the Graveyard, she is instead sent to the top of my deck. And with Valhalla on the field, that means she'll keep coming back like a phoenix from the ashes!" Beryl added smugly.

Atem looked tersely to Kaiba from the ground. "Kaiba… Don't lose faith just yet," He said as the CEO's face fell. "Serena has talent. She can find a way around that combo," He said. _I hope_, he added silently. He looked up at the saws and shuddered at the thought of a loss here.

"Fine… I'll lay down another card and end," Serena murmured. Beryl smirked and paused.

"It's time! I need the one card in my deck that can disable hers entirely, but I have to draw it now! Heart of the cards, guide me!" Beryl said, openly mocking Atem as she made a huge fanfare of drawing. Bakura burst out laughing, enjoying the shot at Atem and even Kaiba had to smile. "Yes! This is it! I Special Summon Archlord Kristya!" She said overdramatically, smirking at Atem the whole time.

Atem growled and bared his teeth at the open insult. "How about you take ME on after this and see who's laughing when we're done?" He called up. Beryl grinned and turned back to Serena.

"Now I'll- wait, what in…?" She blinked. Kristya was gone and no signal on her duel disk told her to bring it to her deck. She looked up to see Serena with her arms crossed.

"I activated a Spell called Book of Moon when you Summoned Kristya. It flips a face-up monster into face-down Defense position. And since you just Summoned it, you can't change it back until my next turn," She said. Beryl narrowed her eyes.

"Fine! I'll play The Sanctuary in the Sky, followed by Gellenduo who can't be kiled in battle but dies if I take damage. However, the Field now prevents battles with Fairies involved from doing damage," Beryl said. "Now, destroy Bestiari!" She ordered. Bestiari was destroyed, but Serena seemed unphased. "Another facedown card, your turn," Beryl said.

"Before I draw, I'll reveal my remaining facedown, Royal Decree!" Serena declared. Beryl swore silently, but kept a poker face. "Then I'll play a familiar combo, Secutor and Test Tiger! I Tribute Tiger, tag out Secutor, then tag him back in. Then I'll play Gladiator Beast's Archfiend Shield and attack Gellenduo!" She said.

"Smart move. She'll lose Life Points but get his effect as opposed to flipping the Kristya," Kaiba noted. Atem nodded even as the shield broke and Serena's Life Points took a tumble (8000 - 1500 = 6500).

"Secutor will bring out Equeste and Murmillo! Murmillo, destroy her face-down Kristya with Bubble Cannon Burst!" Serena ordered. Beryl could only watch as her Archlord was destroyed. "And since it was facedown, it won't be coming back again," Serena added. Her opponent sighed and placed the Fairy into the Graveyard.

"Next, Equeste will bring Bestiari to my hand from the Graveyard," Serena said, adding the monster to her empty hand. "I'll end my turn," She said. Beryl nodded and drew.

"I'll attack Equeste with Gellendo, then end the turn," She said, looking neutrally at the card she'd drawn. It was part of what she needed, but for the moment it would do no good. Serena grimaced before remembering that she'd played both of her monsters in Defense mode.

"Sorry, Equeste. Thank you," She said before drawing. "Alright! I'll play my Bestiari again!" She announced as it reappeared. "Then I'll combine my monsters, returning Bestiari and Murmillo to the deck and summoning Gladiator Beast Gyzarus!" Serena said. Atem looked on in interest; this was the monster he'd gotten rid of before it could show itself in his duel with Serena. It looked remarkably like Bestiari as it rose up, unfurling its wings (2400/1500).

"Gyzarus has a special ability! When it's Summoned, I'm allowed to choose up to two cards on the field to annihilate! I'll take out your Sanctuary and your face-down card on the right!" Serena said, pointing at the card. Beryl frowned as her Divine Wrath was destroyed.

"…Enjoy yourself while you can, Serena. This duel will be over soon enough," Beryl said. Serena gave Beryl an odd look. Beryl was on the ropes; her Traps were compromised, her only remaining monster was about to die and she was still so confident? The whole situation made her feel uneasy. "Go on ahead. Make your move," She said. Serena nodded.

"I attack Gellenduo with Gyzarus!" She ordered. Gyzarus charged forward and slammed the fairy, who briefly bounced back before dying to its ability (8000 - 700 = 7300).

"At the end of the Battle Phase, I'm allowed to tag Gyzarus back to the Extra and summon two Gladiators, only this time I can't play Bestiari. So now…" Serena furrowed her eyebrows. What was Beryl planning? Her Traps were locked down and she'd only have one card in her hand plus one Trap to use even if she did draw a card to destroy Royal Decree. If only Bestiari were an option… Well, she still had the next best thing.

"I'll bring out Laquari and Darius, the latter of which will Special Summon Equeste back from the Graveyard!" Serena announced.

Atem smiled. He remembered THAT play. Heraklinos would follow. "Dat girl's got some real talent," Joey commented. Kaiba nodded.

"Let's just hope she's not a one-hit wonder," He added. Atem frowned. On the one hand, he really wished Kaiba would have a little more faith in Serena. On the other, something seemed…wrong. The main problem was that Serena only had one card left in her hand. Heraklinos was good, but required her hand to maintain its ability.

"I fuse my monsters into Gladiator Beast Heraklinos, then end my turn!" Serena said, smiling as the hulking star monster of her deck came forward. Beryl drew and looked at Serena dead in the eye.

"You thought your Royal Decree would stop me from protecting myself during this match. It is a powerful card… so long as the opponent is using Traps. I didn't happen to draw too many so far," She said. "The first thing I'll do is play Soul Taker to send Gyzarus to the Graveyard," She said.

"I'll negate that with Heraklinos' special ability," Serena replied quickly, discarding her final card.

"As I knew you would. You've played into my hands, Serena. I'm going to play the Pot of Greed Spell, drawing two fresh cards," Beryl said. She prayed that she would draw correctly; her confident front was dependant on a strategy she needed to draw. One of a few cards could do it, but still…

"Ah. That will work. I'll activate my Valhalla's effect to Special Summon Darklord Asmodeus!" She said. Bakura smiled, remembering his encounter with the venerable force of the monster as it came to the field. "Then I play Foolish Burial, and since you have no cards in your hand you cannot stop it," She said.

Atem became confused. Foolish Burial was a card that hurt the person that played it, normally only useful with some effect that would switch the target to a monster in their opponent's deck. "Something is very wrong here, Kaiba," Atem said.

"No kidding? I didn't notice," He replied dryly, adjusting his grip on the pistol in his hand. Atem shook his head and exhaled in frustration as he looked up toward the duel once more.

"I'll discard Darklord Superbia to the Graveyard," Beryl said. "Finally, I reveal from my field Monster Reborn!" She continued. Bakura began to shake in a silent laugh as he understood what Beryl had done.

"…Even if you crash your Asmodeus into Gyzarus and attack with Kristya, I'll still live," Serena said. _Although what I could draw at this point, I have no idea_, she added to herself. Beryl smirked.

"You don't know the half of it, brat. I'll Special Summon Superbia!" She announced. Serena now knew that something was very, very wrong. "Confused? I'll put this in simple terms for you; when Superbia comes from the Graveyard to the field, it brings another Fairy with it," She said as Kristya emerged from Superbia. Serena's eyes widened as she stared down the three mighty angels.

"You lose, Serena! Darklord Asmodeus, attack Gyzarus!" Beryl commanded. The two monsters struggled with each other before each landed a deciding blow. "And since Asmodeus was destroyed, she'll split into the Asmo and Deus parts. Now all of you, my fallen angel army, finish her off and destroy all that she loves!" Beryl ordered.

"NO!" Atem cried as the blows came to bear on Serena. Kaiba bared his teeth, thinking quickly as he made his decision. He tossed his hostage aside, instead aiming the gun at Beryl's duel disk and…

BLAM!

The shot miraculously hit home, putting a hole cleanly through the duel disk. Serena looked around wildly, realizing that her Life Points were still at 6500 and Beryl's army was fizzling. At the same time, Beryl was clutching at her arm; the bullet had gone cleanly through the disk's life point screen and into her arm, and the dark queen was clenching her teeth to steel against the pain.

"Don't think so!" Rebecca shouted, tacking Neflite as she charged at Kaiba. Atem ran to help her, but froze at he noticed what Kaiba had done. The bullet had fired right through Beryl's life point readout, Atem realized as he saw the safe with both party's cards inside hanging open. He ran to it, Amy throwing Jaedite to the side as he tried to halt Atem's path.

"Thank you," Atem told the Scout as he scooped up the cargo. She nodded, then looked to the tower.

"WAIT!" She cried. Bakura, a furious look on his face had his hand on the button that would send their friends plunging to their demise. Her head whipped back behind her at the sound of a revving engine.

"Gimme a ramp girl!" Joey shouted from atop his bike. Amy looked in shocked doubt from the tower to Joey. "Do it, we ain't got time for questions!" He said again. She shrugged and took in a breath. "Mercury Ice Beam!" She shouted. A solid chunk of ice began to form before Joey, eventually lifting and curving into a ramp. He smiled, backed up a few feet and gunned the engine before taking off.

"Comin' through!" He yelled. Serena, who'd noticed the proceedings, dropped to the floor. Bakura wasn't quite as attentive.

"What in-" Were the last words Serena heard before Joey dismounted the bike in midair, sending the vehicle crashing in one side of the clock tower and out the other, sending Bakura flying in the process. He hit the extended roof hard, rolled down and finally fell to the ground.

"DIS WAS POORLY PLANNED!" Joey yelled as he flew through the air, realizing that he hadn't exactly thought the landing through too well. Amy's eyes widened as she followed his progress, desperately trying to think of a solution. She winced as she saw him crash through the stained-glass window of the church seated directly behind the school, praying that he was still alive.

"Joey!" She yelled, freezing the hinges and busting them off without a second thought. What she saw both horrified her and in a horrible way vaguely amused her. Joey had slammed straight into a model of Jesus hanging on the cross, practically wrapped around the thing. "Well… I suppose that's one way of getting closer to God," She commented as she ran over, pulling him down gently. "Are you even alive?" She asked worriedly.

"…I'm in a church. If I am dead, I'm in Hell," Was his dull response before he blacked out. She bit back a laugh as she checked his pulse, which was still strong. There was no way she was doing anything but waiting here; he had to have broken some ribs, falling from that height.

"Man… If defiling the church is a sin, we are so all going to hell," She muttered as she looked around. Glass was everywhere, the doors were in two pieces and the stature of the Crucifixion was cracked.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Amazingly, Bakura had stayed awake (and for that matter, alive) throughout the entire minute-long process of Joey's sudden attack. He shook his head clear just in time to see Atem toss Kaiba the box that held both Grapha and the Blue-Eyes before running towards the church.

"KAIBA!" Bakura screamed, racing after the man. Screw Beryl and the others, he was _not _letting Kaiba get away alive after this. He followed Kaiba as the elder of the two brothers leapt into his car. Rebecca ran after, but Kaiba yelled something at her and she backtracked. Bakura dismissed the girl; he'd go after her after he finished destroying Kaiba.

"Something to keep in mind from here on, Bakura! I'm not anymore inclined to follow the rules than you are!" Kaiba yelled out the window as he revved his engines. Bakura yelled and dodged to the side as the car flew at him, barely escaping being run over.

"DAMNIT!" He roared. He'd been cheated! Of all the people to be cheated, HE got cheated! He turned to chase Rebecca only to find that the girl had managed to free her friends while he'd been busy. They all stood before him, none too pleased. He cursed a few more times and used the same portal warp as Beryl had taught him to get out.

"Every damn time," Lita muttered. She looked around. "Where's Amy at? Or Serena?" She wondered. Rebecca grimaced.

"Amy and Atem went after Joey after that little motorcycle stunt he pulled. Serena… she's still up in the tower," She said.

"…Go get her. We'll check on the others," Lita said after a moment. Rebecca nodded and the group departed.


	21. A Confidence Booster

_I failed…_ The thoughts flew around Serena's mind. All she could see was Archlord Kristya and Darklords Superbia and Asmodeus looming over her. _I lost the duel… my friends would be dead if not for a fluke. I'm not even worth my salt as a duelist…_

The images flashed through her mind again. Kristya's sword, an inch from her neck. The energy blasts of darkness disappearing before her eyes because of Kaiba's bullet. The gust of wind as Joey did what she could not, saving her friends from death. She started at the noise of footsteps.

"…Serena?" Rebecca asked. Serena turned to her sullenly. "You cool?" She asked. She closed her eyes and shook her head.

"I failed, Rebecca. Interrupted or not, I lost that duel. I barely even scratched her life points, for God's sake! I had my best cards out and I failed my friends. They… are ok?" She asked fearfully. Rebecca thought for a moment, debating with herself before she finally answered.

"…Your friends were killed," She lied. Serena's eyes widened. She thought they'd been saved! "Yugi survived, Atem managed to catch him. Tears leaked from Serena's eyes. Rebecca hated lying to Serena, especially about such a sensitive subject. But the girl needed to regain her pride, her confidence and her drive. Rebecca had a plan to do just that.

"I… thought they were saved. Oh, my God…" Serena whispered. Rebecca took a deep breath.

"Listen, Kaiba split with the cards. Atem went to check on Joey, so let's go find them. I think Joey flew into the church," She said. Serena gasped. She paused for a moment before finally letting Rebecca help her to her feet.

"Go on ahead, I'll meet you up in a sec," Rebecca said. Serena didn't question her; she just nodded her head and took off down the stairs. Once Rebecca was sure Serena was gone, she transformed to normal and whipped out her phone. "Atem? Get the Scouts out of there. I need Serena to think that everyone but Yugi died just now. Yes, Atem, I know it sounds cruel. I'll explain later. If she asks, you caught Yugi. Just do it," She said before hanging up.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Atem closed his phone, looking at it very strangely. He thought for a moment and finally decided that he trusted Rebecca. "Scouts. Rebecca has some sort of plan that requires Serena to believe you all dead. Yes," he said, cutting off Amy, "I know it sounds cruel. I think she may have some way of restoring Serena's confidence. She must be in depression over failing to win…" Atem trailed off.

"Well… Girls, let's get out of here then. Atem, we'll see you later," Amy said. The others nodded and made their way out the back just in time.

'Atem! Joey!" Serena yelled, rushing over to the pair with Rebecca in tow. "Is he dead too?" She asked sadly. Atem shook his head. "Thank the moon… Atem, I can't do this," She said. "I've allowed myself to become possessed for the will of evil, injured others in the process and now my friends are dead because of my failures. Please… take it," Serena begged, lifting her disk and deck to him.

Rebecca grabbed her by the shoulder. "Are you that much of a little bitch?!" She demanded. "You lose one damn duel because someone played a perfect counter strategy? Come on! Your friends are gone. Bakura saw to that. He rigged that duel. Are you REALLY that much of a scared little girl? I expected better from the one named Sailor Moon!" She lectured, getting up in her face.

"I tried my best! It wasn't good enough, ok?! People died because I'm a screwup at this game! I couldn't even save my friends when they needed me, and now they're all dead because I'm a failure!" Serena shot back through tears. Rebecca narrowed her eyes.

"If you really are so quick to give up, to call yourself a failure over a loss you were doomed to have, then Luna went to the wrong person with this," She said, holding the Moon Prism.

A cold silence filled the air as Atem watched the proceedings. What did Rebecca think she was doing? "Rebecca, maybe-"

"Butt out, Atem. You know what? Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe you were just too weak to save anyone. You shouldn't have stepped out of your league if you already batting less than perfect," Rebecca said with a smirk. She smiled inside as Serena's face warped from defeatist sadness to rage.

"I am not weak! I just wasn't strong enough to get the job done, ok? I thought I was better… that I could take her… I am in no way weak!" She yelled. _That's it, Serena. Defend yourself. Get mad at me. Come on, _Rebecca thought.

"You know what, Serena? Prove it. You say you're not weak? Prove it. I may not be King of Games, but I've held and hold several championships in Duel Monsters. If you really aren't weak, you should be able to take me down, yeah?" Rebecca challenged.

Atem smiled to himself as he realized what Rebecca was doing. Massive reverse psychology was making Serena defend her strength. He frowned when Serena turned her back.

"I… no. Atem, just take my deck. I'll drop from the tournament, take the Prism and see about finding some way to maybe stop Beryl," she said sullenly. Rebecca snorted.

"Oh. So. Just going to turn your back again, huh? Too weak to fight for what's important, so you turn tail and run. Just like you turned your back on your friends because you were too weak to save them?" Rebecca's words were ice-cold daggers. She froze and slowly turned around.

"I.. was not too weak to save them. They died because Bakura gave Beryl a greater power than what I had, a better deck. She had me out gunned and countered at every turn. I'm not weak!" She growled.

"Then prove it!" Rebecca shouted back. "Think about what the other Scouts would want! Would they have you just run? Or would they have you fight and defend yourself?" She demanded.

The faces of her friends raced through Serena's head. Memories of their battles, their good times and bad. She felt as if Rebecca was right; it wasn't just her honor on the line, it was the good name of the Sailor Scouts she was defending.

"…Fine. FINE! Let's do this!" Serena finally said.

Rebecca smiled inwardly again. _That's right, girl. Get pissed. Show me just what you're made of. Get at me, _she thought as they raised their disks. She shot a sideways look at the sound of Joey waking up. Rebecca froze, realizing that Joey had probably seen the Sailor Scouts and would ruin the illusion of their death. Atem understood the look she gave him and nodded.

"Joey, listen to me. Serena needs to regain her duelist's pride, confidence and heart. She has been depressed with her recent issues, being possessed by Dreadroot and losing to Beryl. Rebecca is forcing her out of the funk, but she's told Serena that the other Scouts are dead in order to anger Serena enough to fight," He said quickly in a low voice.

Joey made a face but nodded. "So no giving away that they're still alive and well," he finished just as quietly. Atem nodded. "So… Rebecca's doing da same thing to Serena that you went through when you dueled Yugi to conquer your evil from da Seal?" He guessed. Atem grimaced at the memory but nodded.

"She's become overwhelmed not with darkness, but with fear and shame. She feels as though she's failed as a hero and a duelist. In reality, I'm certain Bakura knew that you were going to be the one dueling so he had Beryl use that Kristya card," He said. Joey nodded and shook his head in disgust. "By the way, are you ok? You did fly off of a motorcycle from about 30 feet up and crash through a window," Atem added. Joey grinned weakly.

"I'll be fine. You're talking to da guy that was still standing after The Winged Dragon of Ra fried him AFTER being dripped on by a giant lava monster AFTER feeling the pain of his monsters dyin' in a Shadow Game. It takes more den a lousy cross to stop me. No offense to anyone up there," he added.

"Alright! I'll start off with Gladiator Beast Laquari in Attack Mode with two facedown cards!" She said. She opened her mouth to end her turn but froze. What stood before her was not the sword-wielding lizard; rather, Rei had risen to the field. Her eyes widened as she stared. "Rei?" She whispered.

Rebecca shot a confused glance to Atem. To her it looked like the same old Laquari. Why was Serena saying Rei's name? "Serena, are you done?" She asked. Serena snapped out of her trance and nodded.

"Alright… I'll play a card face-down and Summon Injection Fairy Lily (400/1500)!" Rebecca said. A winged nurse flew down, holding a syringe and waving cheerfully. Serena rose an eyebrow. 400 ATK? Something wasn't right here.

"I'll draw and play Gladiator Beast Murmillo," She said. Again her jaw dropped as Amy came to the field rather than the fish she usually saw. "What the hell… are your spirits in my deck now or…?" Serena wondered. She had to be seeing things, because Rebecca and Joey were looking oddly at her again. "Sorry," She said. "I'll attack Lily with Am- I mean, Murmillo!" She declared. Rebecca smiled.

"By giving up 2000 life points, I'll pump Lily's ATK up by 3000 in the damage step!" She responded. The syringe suddenly quadrupled in size, but Serena maintained her cool.

"My Gladiator Beast War Chariot activates! When I have a Gladiator on the field, I'm allowed to use this card to negate an Effect Monster's activated ability. And since it's a Counter, I can use it even in the damage step!" She added. Rebecca was impressed, and her face showed it even as her monster was destroyed. Serena smiled sadly as she watched the Shabon Bubbles destroy Lily, knowing that she'd never see that for real again.

Atem furrowed his eyebrows. Why did Serena keep referring to her Gladiators as the Scouts? Some after-effect of Dreadroot messing with her head? "I wonder why Serena keeps talking about her monsters that way," He murmured. Joey held up a finger.

"I think I know. Remember back on the blimp when I lost to Marik and you were fightin' Kaiba? And when I had dat vision of duelin' that kid while Tristan tried to wake me up?" He asked.

"I remember you telling me about it, yes," Atem said.

"Well, dat was my mind tryin' to tell me that I had da strength to get back up. Dat duel was a tough one, and that kid represented da struggle of tryin' to get outta da Shadow Realm so I could back ya up. I think Serena's mind is lettin' her know dat no matter what she does, whether she wins or loses, fails or succeeds, her friends are always gonna be dere. Even when she thinks them dead, she sees 'em coming to her aid in the form of her monsters," Joey theorized. Atem nodded his head, surprised at Joey's level of insight.

"That…is a very sound theory, actually. I'm glad that you've reached that level of understanding the true meaning of being a duelist," He said. Joey smiled.

"It's been a long road, buddy, but how could I lose havin' you guys with me?" He asked. Atem smiled and turned his attention back to the duel.

"I attack directly with Laquari!" Serena continued. A tear ran down her face as Rei readied her bow and fired at Rebecca. She grinned as she flipped her other card.

"Not so fast. Gravity Bind will stop all of your Level 4 or higher monsters from attacking!" Rebecca said. Serena grimaced as Rei appeared to lose her grip on the bow due to the force pressing down on her.

"End of Battle Phase, tag out A- Murmillo for Bestiari and destroy your card!" Serena commanded. Amy turned, smiled and to Serena's shock spoke.

"Good luck, Serena. I'll be here if you need me," She said before fading. In her place rose Lita, who took out Gravity Bind with her Lightning Whip. Serena's mouth formed an "o" as it clicked. Laquari, a FIRE monster was Rei. Murmillo, WATER, was Amy. So Lita, who though wasn't wind-oriented but wore green, was Bestiari.

"I end my turn," She said. Rebecca smiled as she drew. Not because she had a killer play to make; she had good plays alright, but she was happy with the fact that she could see Serena start to leave her defeatist attitude in the dust.

"See, Serena? Would someone so weak as you say you are being faring this well against a Duel Monsters champion? You even beat Atem once, remember?" Rebecca reminded her. Serena bit her lip and thought about it. Rebecca was right; She'd beaten one champion and was on her way to defeating another. It was seeming less likely by the moment that she truly was weak and more so that she'd been tricked.

"I…" Serena didn't know what to say. She'd still lost when it mattered most; when her friends' lives were at stake. Rebecca grinned. Time to finish off the massive mind-screw.

"If you'll recall, it took a direct counter-strategy AND a whole swarm of angels to take you down. And you know what? Even if they did cheat and stack the deck against you, they got robbed in the end. I told you the Scouts were dead, right?" She asked. Serena closed her eyes in mourning and nodded. "Well… mission accomplished. Their 'death' gave you the drive to power out of your funk and realize that you're as tough as ever," Rebecca said.

Serena blinked, confused. "Mission accomplished?" She echoed. Rebecca turned to look at Atem; she knew she was gonna dread this part of the plan. Atem smirked. _She was going to pay for lying at some point… _he thought.

"Well…I, er," Rebecca was trying to think of a nice way to put it. Luckily, or unluckily depending on who you were, she didn't have to.

"Details of our death may have been slightly exaggerated," Serena spun around so fast that Rebecca could swear the girl had suffered whiplash. Lita stood with the other Scouts, a rather amused look on her face. "You know, that was a mean trick, Rebecca," She called over Serena's shoulder.

Serena narrowed her eyes as she put two and two together. "You mean to tell me that you lied about my friends being dead just so you could psych me out of depression?!" She yelled, marching right around the hard light holograms to tower over Rebecca.

"Uhm… er… yeah," Rebecca squeaked. Serena looked more terrifying to her at the moment than anything Bakura could ever have summoned. Even Amy couldn't help but chuckle at Serena's reactions.

"You… you…" Serena was so mad she couldn't even think of words to describe it. She heard the chuckling and whipped back around, outraged. "You guys think this is funny?! I thought you were dead! I thought…" Rebecca could swear she could see steam emitting from Serena's ears.

"Serena," Luna said, leaping from Amy's shoulder and jumping up to hers, "you must understand that it was the only thing that would provoke you hard enough into defending yourself and," She said, eyeing Rebecca, "falling right into her mind-screwing." Seeing that Serena was no more calm, Luna sighed. "The fact is, you've learned your lesson. This," She said, leaping over to Rebecca and unfastening the Moon Prism, "proves it," she added, handing Serena the gem.

Serena laughed as the Prism shone instantaneously, transforming her to match with the other transformed Scouts. She sighed and looked at Rebecca with an unreadable expression.

"Alright, fine. You win. But don't you EVER lie to me about stuff like that again," She said after a moment. Rebecca grinned and nodded. "You know something? I'm tired as hell from the massive amount of bull-" Atem cleared his throat loudly and pointedly, pointing to the cross. "Oh. OK, all the crap that's happened tonight. Kaiba got his deck back, Joey trashed what we pray is Valon's bike, Bakura's royall pi-" Atem coughed again. "Ticked off," She amended.

"Amen to that. Let's get out of this joint," Lita agreed. Atem sighed.

"Are we going to show _any _respect to the church here? Maybe, you know, not curse and refer to it as a "joint", maybe actually fix the damage we did?" He asked, exasperated. Serena realized that yeah, they kind of broke a stained glass window.

"…Well, we are 'employed' under Kaiba. We'll tell the church it was collateral damage as part of doing our job," Amy said after a moment. Joey grinned.

"You mean let Moneybags pay for it?" He asked. Amy nodded. "Sounds good to me," He said cheerfully. The cheerful demeanor fell when he tried to stand. "Ow. Okay… Ow," He said again.

"Tell you what. You girls head to the hotel and get some rest. Be careful, please. We'll get Joey to the emergency room and make sure he's alright," Atem said.

"Sounds good. Let's try not to get into any mortal duels this time though," Serena added. _Besides, I think we'll have plenty of duels to play tomorrow, _She thought.


	22. Joey's Redemption

The night's dreams were not kind to Serena. She'd overcome her depression, but it didn't erase the images of Beryl's dark seraphs closing in on her. She screamed in her dream as Asmodeus' blade narrowly avoided her head, running as fast as she could to escape the angels.

"That's right, Sailor Moon!" Serena looked up to see Bakura towering over her, dwarfing her and cackling like mad. "How much longer can you keep running, little girl?" He laughed.

"DIE!" Serena turned around just in time to see the tip of Kristya's sword before-"

"AHHH!" Serena jolted awake. Something besides her dreams was very wrong, and she remembered the last time she'd ventured from her hotel room. "Luna?" She whispered, trying to wake the feline up.

"Nnnn… What is it?" Luna moaned as she rolled over.

"I feel that something isn't right. I can feel it in my heart and my Moon Prism," She said, grasping the jewel. Luna focused and discovered that indeed, there was a disturbance in the surrounding area.

"Can we not just get through the night without any more fighting?" Luna groaned. Serena let out a small chuckle as she transformed before leaving the room, just in case.

"It's coming from this way," She said as the pair exited the hotel, pointing north. As they began walking, Serena noticed that they were heading to the hospital. "I wonder if it concerns Joey… Hope he's alright," She said aloud.

"It's OK Serena, I don't sense the aura of Bakura, Beryl or any of the others," Luna assured her as they reached the building. She was startled to see not only Atem but Kaiba as well already gathered in front. She was even more surprised that the two weren't dueling.

"I thought you might have felt it," Atem commented as she joined them. Kaiba gave the girl a sideways glance.

"I suppose I do owe you some form of thanks for distracting Beryl long enough for me to get a shot. But try not to get completely destroyed next time you're dueling for lives," he added dryly. Serena honestly couldn't tell if that was supposed to be his form of humor or not, but shrugged it off.

"Is Joey alright?" She asked. Atem frowned.

"That's what we were about to check on, until we saw you in the distance," He said.

"Well, what the hell're we waiting for?" Serena asked. They walked calmly inside and made their way to the service desk. "Hi, we're looking to see a Joseph Wheeler?" Serena asked politely. The nurse nodded and shuffled through some papers.

"…He seems to have checked himself out a couple of hours ago," She said after a moment. The three looked at each other, thoroughly confused. "I believe I recall him. Blond hair, wearing one of those watch-disk things?" She asked. Kaiba's eyes narrowed at the terminology, but he nodded. "Yes, he was out a couple hours ago. He had a visitor come by to see him, and he checked out shortly thereafter. I tried to talk him out of it… he seemed quite injured still, but he insisted," She apologized. Serena nodded grimly.

"What did the visitor look like?" Atem asked sharply. The nurse closed her eyes in thought.

"I remember it was two people. One was a shorter kid, black hair, looked a little wild-eyed honestly. The other was blond, had kind of a sneer to his face and wasn't exactly the most polity gentleman," She said. Serena nodded. Jaedite she recognized. But who…?

"OK. Thank you," Atem said before leading them back outside. "OK, so Neflite came and told Joey to be somewhere. But who was with him, and what incentive did Joey have? He had three broken ribs; he shouldn't have been walking," He pondered.

"Don't know, but I'll ping his Duel Disk. He didn't leave it behind," Kaiba said, pulling out a small computer from a pocket and hitting a few buttons. "He's about two miles west of here," He said. Then his eyes widened. "And he's just drawn his first hand. He's dueling," He added.

They ran as fast as they could to the coordiantes Kaiba had gotten. Atem smiled as he saw the Red-Eyes Black Dragon in the distance; that was almost always good news. The smile quickly faded when they arrived on the scene.

Across from Joey stood Jaedite, three Unknown Synchrons floating before him. To Jaedite's right was a steel cage with pointed iron bars pointing towards the contents of the cage; Mokuba Kaiba. Both Duel Disks were wired to the cage; Serena guessed that one Disk's Points hitting 0 freed Mokuba, and the other skewered him.

"Ah, Kaiba," Jaedite said as he spotted the elder of the two brothers. "Glad you could make it. Good to see you two as well, you can watch the show from the top box," He laughed. Kaiba balled his fists in rage. Bakura was mad at Seto so he'd ordered Jaedite to take it out on Mokuba for him.

"Don't… don't worry, Kaiba. I ain't gonna let ya down," Joey wheezed. To Atem's shock, Kaiba's face softened into a look of concern.

"You are in no condition to Duel, Wheeler," He said. Joey shook his head.

"In condition or not, if I lose or forfeit your brother is shish kebab," He said. "Make your move," He added at Jaedite.

"Fine. I'll sacrifice all my Monsters to form The Wicked Avatar!" He said. Atem grimaced as the ball of black rose before taking on Red-Eyes' appearance (2500/2100).

Kaiba looked around and assessed the situation. Joey had two cards down and Red-Eyes, as well as two cards in his hand. A look at the Graveyards via his duel disk tracking system revealed that Joey had played Ancient Rules to do so. Jaedite had used the same combination Atem had told him about.

"Avatar attacks Red-Eyes!" Jaedite said.

Joey cried out as he was thrown back from the force of the attack, his Red-Eyes obliterated and his Life Points dropping (8000 - 100 = 7900). He landed on his back, groaning in pain. "JOEY!" Atem cried. He started to run to his friend, but Kaiba stopped him.

"Don't interfere. We don't know who's here that we can't see," He said. Atem hissed furiously but stayed put.

"It's your move," Jaedite said. He knew Joey was weak. How long he could keep the duel up was unclear, but Jaedite was certain it wouldn't be long.

Joey drew and tried to clear his mind through the pain. How had Atem stopped this God? _Oh right, he overpowered it into a Magic Cylinder… used its own strength against it_, Joey remembered from Atem's recount. "I'll Set a monster and end my turn," He said.

"Draw! And I'll play a card facedown to end my turn," Jaedite finished.

Joey looked at his hand as he drew. "I'll Set two cards and end my turn," He added. Jaedite nodded,

"I'll Set a card and pass," Jaedite was growing impatient. He needed another one of his owerful monsters so Dreadroot could power up!

"I don't have a play this turn," Joey shook his head as he passed back.

"Ah! Here we go!" I play Monster Reborn to summon Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" Jaedite smirked as the Dragon rose again and Avatar transformed. Joey bared his teeth; he could see the dragon already trying to fight free of Jaedite's control. "I attack! Double Inferno Fire Blast!" He called.

"AHH!" Joey was again laid out (7900 - 4900 = 3000). Kaiba winced; even he couldn't deny the sound of another rib breaking. Initially Joey just lay there prone. He closed his eyes; the pain seemed to engulf him. _Damn… Joey, come on, get yer ass up, _he thought. Easier said than done, however, as an attempt to stand again failed. He tried again, to no avail. Jaedite grinned; it was finally happening. Joey was unable to-

"How the hell are you still standing?!" Jaedite yelled. Joey had made it to his feet and drawn his card. He was a panting mess, but he was up.

"If an Egyptian God couldn't take me down, what makes you think your fake over dere's gonna cut it?" Joey asked with a weak smile. "I… I'll set a Monster and end my turn," He added.

"Fine. I'll knock you down AGAIN! Avatar, attack!" Jaedite roared. The attack blasted through Joey's card but left a small object in its wake. "What in the…?" He questioned. Joey grinned as the object revealed itself to be a small pot with what appeared to be a miniature tree inside.

"Meet Fiber Jar!" Joey said. Kaiba's eyebrows shot up and he shook his head in amazement. Wheeler never failed to utterly astound the number 2 duelist with his inventive techniques.

"…A potted plant. I am so scared," Jaedite said dryly. Atem and Serena shot a glance at Kaiba.

"What does Fiber Jar do?" Serena asked. Kaiba simply pointed at the duel, where the Jar's roots seemed to begin absorbing the energy from every card in play. Even the Graveyards and hands seemed to be feeding it. "What the…?"

"When Fiber Jar is flipped, as you so kindly did when you attacked," Joey paused for a moment, wincing as another jolt of pain hit him, "every card from our Field, hand and graveyard is shuffled back into our Decks. Then we'll draw a whole new hand of five cards and start fresh," He said. Serena's jaw hit the floor.

"Of course! Joey's deck can't use Avatar's strength against it, but it can manipulate the field better than my deck can," Atem realized.

"I… I'll admit, he's gotten better," Kaiba said hesitantly. "Wheeler!" He called. Joey looked over. "You got around his God, now don't screw this up!" He said. Joey shook his head.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Moneybags," He said as he drew his five. Jaedite was just about literally hopping up and down in rage. His new hand was passable, but did not contain the God. "I will Summon a monster face-down and end my turn," Jaedite ground out. Joey grinned; he could see he was getting under Jaedite's skin.

"Alright den. I'm gonna play Gearfried, The Iron Knight in Attack Mode!" Joey said. The familiar plated-armored warrior appeared in full combat mode (1800/1600). "I'll also set two cards facedown. After that, I'll end my turn," Joey added. Serena was confused.

"Why not attack…?" She wondered. Kaiba furrowed his brows but decided to, at least this once, have faith in Joey.

"If Joey's half the duelist that everyone says he is, he's realized that Jaedite didn't lay down protection. He WANTS Joey to attack," Kaiba responded. He grimaced as Joey's hand flew to his midsection. He really was in no condition to duel, especially with the safety features that buffered the solid-light holograms from making all-too real contact turned off.

Jaedite grinned as he looked at his drawn card. "I'll play one card facedown and one monster facedown before I pass," He said. Joey nodded and reached for his deck but didn't make it, instead falling to one knee as his ribs screamed again.

"Joey!" Serena and Atem cried at the same time. Somehow, the blond duelist AGAIN made it back up. "Jaedite! This duel stops NOW! Moon Ti-" Jaedite held up a hand.

"If my Duel Disk shuts off for ANY reason other than my Life Points running out, that cage will activate automatically. You wouldn't want poor Mokuba to be skewered for nothing, do you?" He said with a smirk. Serena shook with anger as she clutched her tiara.

"You don't… have… to interfere. I got dis," Joey said, his breathing labored with each word. "I'll play Red-Eyes Black Chick and sacrifice it to Summon Red-Eyes Black Dragon," He added (2400/2000). "One facedown… go."

"I reveal my facedown, Ultimate Offering! I'll Summon Spirit Reaper, then pay 500 Life Points (8000 - 500 = 7500) to allow myself another Normal Summon! I-"

"Hold it. I'll use Kunai with Chain to give my Red-Eyes an additional 500 points and… and…" Joey stopped for a moment to clear his head, "destroy Spirit Reaper by targeting him with an effect," he added. Spirit Reaper exploded and Jaedite growled.

"You delay the inevitable. Make your move," He said. Joey drew and stopped cold. Not from pain, but from what he saw. Jaedite's deck, specifically his top card, had turned black. It looked different from the others. Joey, confused, looked at his draw and smiled in understanding.

"Looks like dis is over… One card facedown to end the turn," He said. Kaiba groaned Wheeler had screwed it up. He knew it. Wheeler was doomed to be a second-to best.

"I draw, and-"

"Trap card, activate. I'll Drop Off your Wicked God Avatar to da Graveyard!" Joey said confidently. Jaedite was slack-jawed; indeed, he'd drawn the God. He had used Ultimate Offering as a bait as to take care of the facedown cards!

"What in the actual hell…?" Kaiba said, awestruck as Jaedite was forced to discard the entity. Jaedite ended his turn without another word and Joey smiled as he drew, knowing he'd again pissed off the evil man before him.

"I'm playin' my other facedown, Red-Eyes Transmigration! Dis card requires a sacrifice of Red-Eyes and a Warrior," Joey said as his two monsters vanished, "and summons Lord of the Red!" He said as Red-Eyes essentially became a suit of armor for a new man to wear (2400/2000).

"Next, I'll play Foolish Burial to send Jinzo to da Grave," Joey said. "Den Pot of Greed to draw two. And now, since two Spells were activated, Lord of the Red can destroy all of your monsters!"

Jaedite's eyes widened as his monsters were wiped out. "No! Stop!" He yelled.

"I'll play Monster Reborn on my Jinzo!" He said. Jinzo rose up with a mechanical noise (2400/2000). "Den I'll play Question! Guess which monster's on the bottom of my Grave!" He challenged.

"Easy. I destroyed Fiber Jar last," Jaedite said. Joey laughed.

"Da graveyards went back to da decks, moron," He said as Gearfried arose. Jaedite cursed as he remembered that detail. "Finally, I summon Goblin Attack Force (2300/0) and attack with everything I got!" He said.

Jaedite was sent to the ground by the force of the attacks as the cage opened. Joey gave an odd smile, as though he was finally satisfied with something.

"Not… this time… ya overgrown golf ball," he whispered before finally succumbing to his injuries, both old and new. He fell to his knees, where Atem and Serena caught him before he fell face-first.

"Mokuba! Are you hurt?" Serena swung her head around, shocked to hear compassion in Seto's voice as the two Kaiba brothers embraced. The younger Kaiba shook his head and Kaiba sighed in relief. "We really need to get you some self-defense classes or something," Seto said. His gaze turned to Jaedite.

"Misery loves company," He said as he roughly yanked Jaedite's disk off his arm. He rifled through the deck until he found Avatar and pocketed it. It would go in the same vault as Dreadroot, leaving Bakura with only Slifer's counterpart.

"These are his," Atem and Serena both looked behind them to see Seto standing there, two locator cards in his hand. "I'll lock away the Avatar card, just like Dreadroot. Does he need an airlift or something?" He asked, gesturing at Joey.

"Don't know. I wish Amy were here… she'd know how bad he's hurt," Serena said. Luna hopped down.

"I could always contact her," She suggested. Serena shook her head. "Then yes, Kaiba, an airlift if you please," Luna said, looking up at him. He nodded and pulled out his cell phone. One three-minute hold and a few words later and the aircraft was on its way.

"…I have sleep to get before tomorrow comes. Tell Wheeler…" Kaiba seemed to be forcing the words from his mouth, "that… that I'm glad he didn't completely screw up. He'll be registered into the finals; I know you've been registered already Atem, and you're only one card away, Serena. The blue girl actually only needs two. The other three slots are still anyone's game," He said finally before walking back to the hospital, where his car was waiting.

Atem sighed at Serena's narrowed eyes. "Serena, once you've known Kaiba long enough you'll know that's his version of 'thank you' to most people," He said. As the words came out of his mouth, the pair heard chopper blades above. "That was fast," he commented.

"Let's hope it was fast enough," Serena said.


	23. Return Of An Old Friend

"But he's alive, right?" Lita asked. They had all once again gathered in the game shop the next morning, where Serena had relayed the events of the previous night. Serena nodded to confirm Lita's statement.

"Man… sustaining that many hard hits with his previous injuries would be… torture," Amy murmured, finally finding a word strong enough to describe it. Yugi shook his head slowly, knowing that Amy was right. He also knew that Joey was strong enough to pull through it, but still…

"So… Atem is with Joey?" Yugi asked. Serena opened her mouth to reply, but the door opened to reveal said Pharaoh.

"I was. I had to get _some _sleep, so I called an old friend of his to take over. She was more than glad to help," Atem said with a smile. Yugi, Tea and Tristan all grinned back.

"Mai is hanging around here?" Yugi guessed. Atem nodded. "Well, that's gonna be a surprise when he wakes up," he said with a laugh. Serena cocked her head.

"Who's Mai?" She asked.

"Joey's love interest," Tea said with a chuckle. Atem nodded.

"Yes, rather similar to you and Yugi," he added. That shut her up, causing a hard blush to spread over Tea and Yugi. Atem looked amused as he turned to Serena.

"She's actually expecting us before we head out to find duels. I say we head out, if everyone's in agreement," he said.

"Sounds good to me. I really want to make sure he's alright… then I want to get my hands on Bakura," Serena said. Atem nodded and smiled.

"In due time, Serena. I'm sure you'll have your chance," He said as they left the shop. She nodded.

_And when I do, he's going to wish he'd never messed with Sailor Moon_, She thought.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Well, there you are," The group had just arrived at the hospital, where a blond woman in a sleevless purple vest and purple shorts was leaning against the entrance doorframe. "It's rude to keep a lady waiting, you know," she jokingly scolded Atem.

"As you can see, I had many people to collect. Girls, this is Mai Valentine. She's a heavily decorated duelist in her own right," Atem said. A silence filled the air.

"Her name is… Mai Valentine?" Serena was trying and failing to fight the smile creeping across her face. Mai narrowed her eyes at the new blond girl.

"Yeah, it is. Got a problem with that?" She asked roughly. Serena tried to hold in a laugh and it came out as a snort instead.

"No.. it's just… _My Valentine_? You don't get the hilarity of that?" Lita spoke for her. Mai turned to Atem.

"Polite bunch, aren't they?" She asked. Atem just chuckled.

"You have to admit, the name is a rather obvious pun," He said. "OK, I think that's enough making fun of our new friend. I've already brought Mai up to date on our situation," Atem addressed the Scouts. "Has Joey awoken?" He asked.

Mai shrugged. "Don't know. He was still out last I saw him about half an hour ago," she said. "I had him moved to a bigger, private room so we could all get in," She added as an afterthought.

Atem smiled and nodded, and with that the entourage made their way into Joey's hospital room, where they found the normally-spunky duelist laying flat on his back with a cast surrounding his midsection.

"Dey said this'll have to be on for a month or so," He said, startling everyone as he opened his eyes. "I'd lean up if I could, but I gotta stay still so my ribs don't get any worse."

"Not a problem, Joey. You were excellent out there, you know," Atem said. Joey smiled.

"Thanks, Yu- Atem. Man, I keep forgetting dat you two ain't da same anymore," He said with a laugh. Atem shook his head and chuckled himself.

"Joey?" Serena began.

"Yeah?" He asked.

"When you said 'not this time', what did you mean?" She asked. Joey gave a weak laugh and grinned.

"Dat big ink blot is da dark counterpart of The Winged Dragon of Ra, Serena," He said. She nodded, having already known this. "Da last time I faced Ra, the REAL Ra, I was dueling against the dark spirit of da Millenium Rod," He said, his mind going back to that fateful duel onboard Kaiba's blimp.

"Whoa. What happened?" Serena asked. Joey grimaced as he remembered.

"Yami Marik, as we called him, had created a Shadow Game. I'd been injured from my monsters dyin', had lava dripped on me from a Lava Golem and even been struck with Ra full force, and I was still standin'. Yami Marik had played Monster Reborn on Ra, put all but one life point into it and attacked me, expecting the effects of the Shadow Game to do me in on da spot," He explained.

"And then?" Lita pressed. Now all of the Scouts were interested. Joey sighed.

"I was still on my feet after the blow. As you probably know, God Cards revived only stay out for one turn," Joey said. Everyone nodded, and Atem looked away as he too remembered what happened next. "Ra died. I drew and Summoned Gearfried, the Iron Knight," He said.

"Oh… that's why Gearfried was so important last night," Serena realized.

"Yup. Except the shadows had finally done what Marik wanted. I was halfway through calling my attack when I faded, which meant Marik won," Joey said.

"That's bull. You had the duel, but lost because Marik was a bitch and hid behind an outside effect?" Lita said angrily. Joey nodded and Serena understood.

"So by 'not this time'…"

"Yeah. It was round two and I was right back where I was last time. Except dis time I pulled through," Joey confirmed.

"Well, good for you. At least you gave back as good as you got," Rei said. A noise of agreement rose from everyone.

"So… you're pretty much stuck here, and the finals are next week. You're qualified for the finals. How is that going to work?" Amy wondered. Joey and Yugi smiled.

" Normally, Kaiba's fairly strict about tournament rules. But he kind of owes us big time for the events of last night, so Kaiba has agreed to let me duel in Joey's place so long as I use his deck," Yugi explained. Then he grinned. "It probably isn't coincidence that he realized taking Atem out would no longer get him his King of Games title back," He added. Everyone had a good chuckle over that.

Serena suddenly got serious. "OK, so assuming that Amy picks up a couple locator cards and I get one, that's five guaranteed people in the finals. If I know Beryl, she'll only trust herself to get in," She said. Atem nodded.

"And if I know Bakura, he won't trust any help. So I believe we can safely assume that the both of them will worm their way in. That leaves the eighth spot a wild card," He said, summing up the situation.

"Hmph. That wild card is going to be a Harpie Lady," Mai huffed. Atem smiled.

"You have tough competition, Mai. Several of Duel Academy's top students are entered in this tournament. I wouldn't be surprised if one of them gets it," He said. Mai looked at Atem, slack-jawed.

"Are you serious? I already have five locators! Only one more, and that's easy pickin's around here!" She said. Serena smiled and shook her head.

"And that's why you'll be out if you don't change that attitude. None of those students are 'easy' at all to beat. Amy knows that," She said. Amy nodded fervently. "Just make sure you don't underestimate anyone, that's all," Serena said.

"I'll keep that in mind. I'll be out winning my sixth locator if you need me," Mai said before leaving the room.

"Pretty tough words, Serena. Wise ones, but tough as well. Mai is a very skilled duelist; I'm quite sure she'll handle herself properly when it comes to crunch time," Atem said.

"Speaking of crunch time, I know Joey's hurt and I'd love to be able to stay here for him but Serena and I both need to get out there and cement our places in the finals," Amy said. Serena nodded.

"Good point, and neither of you should go alone. Tristant, Tea and I can stay here. The rest of you can group up and split up," Yugi suggested. Serena nodded and wound up with Lita and Atem following her.

"Hm. Hopefully we can get this over with qu-" Serena was interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Serena, was it?" Serena turned around to find Alexis, the girl she'd dueled under possession standing there. "How are your arms?" She asked. Serena smiled and held them up, showing the marks where they were still healing.

"Listen, Alexis, I'm so sorry about what happened last time. I was a jerk. You played really well, and could well have beaten me if we hadn't-" Alexis held a hand up to stop Serena.

"I've seen it before, Serena. I've been there. I know what a powerful force can do to a person. You weren't yourself, I don't blame you. However," She said with a smile as she backed up, "I believe we have unfinished business," she finished, raising her arm as her duel disk activated.

Serena looked over to her friends and Atem nodded with a smile. "She's right, Serena. It's time to duel," He said.

"I think he just said it all," Alexis said. "But for the record…" Serena grinned.

"LET'S DUEL!"


	24. Battle City Freeze

"Serena… What you saw last we met was a powerful deck. I wanted to get back to my roots with it, it's one of the first decks I ever used. But this time…" Alexis smiled. "This time, you're going to know firsthand why they call me the Ice Queen! I'll play the Ice Doll Spell card," She said.

"I thought you said Spell," Serena said in confusion as a doll indeed made of ice was Summoned (0/0Level 1 Water/Aqua) Alexis nodded.

"Ice Doll is a Spell that Summons an Ice Doll token," She explained. "I'll then play Curtain of Hail, which will protect Level 3 or lower Water monsters I control from destruction," Alexis continued. Serena shielded her eyes as a snowstorm obscured her vision.

"Man. You can barely even see through even the hologram. Kaiba did his technology right," Lita commented. Atem nodded distractedly.

_Alexis already has a strong setup on her first turn… I hope Serena can pull through that hail. Gyzarus should be able to rain on her parade_ He thought as he watched Serena's neutral facial expression.

"I'll also Summon Illusion Ice Sculpture in Defense Mode! It has no points, but when it hits it can put a monster of mine's ATK up to where it's Level is," Alexis said as ice engulfed her Doll (0/0 + 100/100 = 100/100). "One card down and it's all yours," She added.

Serena drew and grinned. "I play Equeste!" She said. "However, I won't attack. Just these three cards facedown will do," She said. Alexis was surprised; Serena was learning at a surprising pace when to be passive, as opposed to a reckless charge that she'd seen many others of her experience level made back at the Academy.

"Interesting… Well, get ready! I'll play the White Night Fort card, a fortress that emit's a mystic aura, rendering Traps useless during the opposing turns," She said. Serena's eyes widened at that news. "Then I sacrifice my creatures!" She said.

"A two-tribute Summoning? This ain't good," Lita said. Serena tended to agree.

"I play White Night Dragon!" Alexis declared. The massive dragon let loose with a mighty roar, causing those who had gathered around to watch jump. A few whooped and hollered as the beast settled to the ground (3000/2500).

"Oh no… that Dragon rivals even the Blue-Eyes in raw power!" Atem said, shocked. He'd never seen such a creature before, and realized that it was still an Effect monster to boot.

"With the Dragon out guarding my Fort in the middle of my snowstorm, I'd say the night is going to be white for a long time," Alexis said. "Now, Dragon! Attack!" She said.

Serena raised an arm to shield herself as the blast came, her visage lost in the resulting cloud of dust. Alexis' face went from a smile to shocked when the smoke cleared, seeing not only Serena's Life Points intact but Equeste still standing, pawing the ground in defiance.

"What the…?" Alexis muttered. Serena crossed her arms, causing Alexis to grimace slightly as parts of the marks Benten had left showed through.

"Hey, I learned this game from _Yugi Moto_. You think he didn't teach me a thing or two about Chains?" She asked. Alexis' eyebrows rose. "When you activated your Fort, I chained Waboku to it. Looks to me like you got a little snowblinded," Serena joked. Lita groaned and put a palm to her forehead.

"Really, Serena? A snowblind joke? One of these days, I swear…" She muttered. Alexis was amazed.

"I've gotta hand it to you, Serena. For how little experience you have, you have a lot more skill than many people. Maybe you should think about enrolling in Duel Academy? Very few students that have played as long as you even know what a Chain is," Alexis said.

"I'm flattered by the offer, but I'm not a duelist by trade, if you get my 'drift'" Serena said, emphasizing the last word.

"That's it, I'm leaving. Bad pun overload, going to go find Amy and them," Lita said flatly. Atem couldn't help but smile as Lita walked off, shaking her head and muttering something about surgically replacing Serena's sense of humor.

"Gotta say, Serena, that one was kinda lame," Alexis said. Serena just grinned as she used Equeste's effect.

"I bring out Murmillo to wipe out your Dragon! Fire the cannons!" Serena announced. Murmillo blasted the Dragon and when the smoke cleared, the creature was slain. Alexis gave a pout that turned into a laugh.

"Good one, Serena, but my Call of the Haunted IS useable on my turn," She said as the Dragon came back from the dead. Serena swore as Alexis passed her turn.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"It's going to be a bit harder to find someone willing to give up two locator cards," Amy commented as they walked along. Yugi nodded in agreement.

"Still, it shouldn't be impossible. Lots of players are in your position, Amy," He pointed out. Amy considered and nodded; that much was indeed true. Still, she was having trouble getting people to bet two cards.

"You know, if you guys hadn't dove headfirst into this thing all or nothing and scrubbed out, I could just duel one of you," Amy commented dryly to the other Scouts.

"Hey! Take that back! Just because we were trying to make fast progress in the tournament doesn't mean we dove headfirst!" Raye yelled. Amy gave a rare grin; pissing off Raye was almost always cheap entertainment.

"Whoa… check out the talent," Amy heard someone say, followed by a few catcalls. Amy looked around, trying to finding the target of said remarks. She quickly noticed that about 15 guys were looking right in her direction. Raye tried and failed to hide an amused laugh at Amy's quirked brow.

"Either you're looking in the wrong direction or else you'd better be referring to the number of locator cards I have," She said. Every single one of them came forward, shaking their head.

"Baby, we don't give a damn about those cards you got there. Just sayin' you got a nice pair of-"

WHAM!

Raye didn't even let the rest of the vulgar comment come out before slugging the offending pig in the jaw. Yugi face palmed. These guys were at least twice his size; there was no way he'd be useful in a fight like this.

"Raye!" Amy said in a scolding tone as she dragged her friend off of the guy before she could strike again. Raye was still struggling to break loose even as Amy handed her off to Mina.

"Let me go! Let me at him! I'll kick his sorry-" Amy sighed as Raye continued to yell curses and threats.

"To be fair, I will warn you; NEVER make that sort of chauvinistic remark toward me again," She said, directing a threatening tone toward the men who were still looking in shock from their friend to Raye.

"Look, little lady. We don't take shit from anyone lightly. I actually AM part of the tournament; some punk got lucky and won a couple cards from me, but I've still got two and I'm looking for four. That broad over there wants to fight, she can fight on my terms," He said, raising his duel disk. Amy smirked.

"Raye's out of locator cards," She said. "However… I'm looking for a couple myself. So why don't you and I toss up two locators each and go at it?" She suggested. The man considered this offer. Same locator cards, different person. As long as he got the cards, it didn't matter whose pretty face he had to ruin.

"It's a deal," He said, raising his disk. Amy nodded and followed suit.

"Ladies fir-"

"I don't care about all that crap," The man said. Amy gaped in shock and stood to her fullest height.

"Now you listen here you-" She was again interrupted.

"The name's Jack, if you need a name to lecture me by," He said sarcastically. She narrowed her eyes.

"You see here, Jack! I will NOT allow you to just insult me like common trash, I don't care WHO you are! I'm going to play the Cryomancer of the Ice Barrier (1300/0) in combination with my Double Summon Spell! It allows me a second Normal Summon during my turn, so out comes Dewdark of the Ice Barrier!" She said firmly. Jack growled.

"Fine! But I get to attack first! I'll play Zombie Master in Attack Mode!" He declared. A creature that looked much like a zombie itself came into play wearing a shaman's robe (1800/0). "I'll set a card and attack!" He said. When nothing happened, he blinked. "I attack!" He said again. Amy gave a highly exaggerated yawn.

"Sorry, but Cryomancer won't let Level 4 or higher monsters attack while I control another Ice Barrier," She said in a bored manner. Jack cursed as he ended his turn.

"Way to play, Amy!" Yugi cheered from the side. At least he could be of SOME use now that they were dueling on a level he was used to. Amy gave a nod and smiled at her draw.

"Alright, I'll activate my Magic Triangle of the Ice Barrier Spell. By revealing three differently named Ice Barrier monsters," She began, holding up Genreral Gantala, Warlock and Prior, "I can blow away a card you control, specifically that backrow there," She said. Mirror Force blew up, followed by another curse. "Then, of those three I can Special Summon one. Gantala in Attack Mode!" She announced. The leader rose up and prepared for battle (2700/2000).

"Geez. Amy opened the nuts," Mina said. Yugi shook his head.

"Not really. She did get an awesome opening hand, but a duelist's passion and heart can have a lot to do with it. Amy is connected to that deck by the Sailor Mercury powers she holds so dear, and she got extremely upset when these men insulted our group. She's got a passion to win this match and show these goons what for," Yugi explained.

"So she basically opened a lucky hand because she's pretty much one with the deck?" Mina asked. Yugi nodded. "Wow. That's… interesting, to say the least," She said.

"Now, since I have Ice Barrier Monsters I can Special Summon Prior," She said as a man in a traveler's robe appeared (1000/600). "Then I can Normal Summon Warlock of the Ice Barrier (400/1000) in Defense Mode. I'll attack with everything I've got!" She said. A whirlwind of blizzard attack flew at Jack, causing him to yell out in frustration (8000 - 2700 - 1200 - 1000 = 3100).

"I draw! I'll… uhm… I'll play… well, no, she'd just kill it next turn and win. I'll Sum- wait, damn, that won't work. I…uh…" Jack muttered as he drew and looked at his hand. Amy looked vaguely amused as the man stumbled and stuttered. "I don't have a play to make," He admitted finally. A loud noise of protest came from the crew behind him. "What am I supposed to do? She opened a freaking god-lucky hand with a bad deck and my hand is crap!" He snapped.

"Bad deck? BAD DECK? I'll show you bad deck!" Amy roared in an outrage that caused even Raye to jump and recoil. "How about some of this! Dance Princess of the Ice Barrier in Attack Mode!" She said, putting the card straight from the top of her deck to her disk without even looking at it.

"OK, Amy is now officially a wizard," Raye said in awe. Yugi smiled, eyebrows raised; the only time he'd ever seen someone do something like that was when Atem needed a certain card from his deck.

"Now I'll Synchro Summon!" She said. Everyone in Amy's entourage smiled and waited for Brionac to roar to life.

"Yeah, Amy! Use Brionac and give 'em what for!" Raye cheered. Amy shook her head, confusing Raye. Confusion gave way to, for the first time ever, fear of the bluenette as the Water Warrior's face split into a sinister smile.

"This clown doesn't deserve Brionac. I tune my Cryomancer to my Warlock and Dance Princess!" She said. Yugi frowned. _Three materials? I thought a Synchro Summon was a Tuner synching up with one other monster…_ He thought. Amy's eyes were set in determination as a beam of life shot up toward the sky and the three monsters leapt into it.

"The ultimate guardian, Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier!" Amy said as the light gave way to a monstrous dragon, something that looked like it would make Kaiba's Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon quail in fear. It had three heads, each as fierce as the other and every eye set on Jack, who gulped.

"When Trishula comes out, it takes a card from your hand, field and Graveyard straight outta the game! You have no field, but," She said, marching around Trishula and straight to Jack, "I'll take this card from your hand…" She said. She looked at the card she'd plucked and smiled pleasantly. "You could have used this," She said, handing Gorz, Emissary of Darkness back to Jack. He growled as he Banished it and Mirror Force.

"Now then. Gantala, Trishula, finish this up and lock me into the final! Attack!" Amy said. Twin blasts of freezing winds flew across the field, knocking Jack to the ground with a moan as the holograms fainted. Amy walked calmly across the field, looked down at the man and shook her head as she took the two locator cards and Gorz from his duel disk herself with a "humph!" noise.

"Yeah! That's showing them, Amy!" Raye cheered, still in Mina's grasp. "You can let go of me now, by the way," she added to her fellow Scout, who released her. Jack made a noise of protest and stomped up.

"Hey! You can't just take my locator cards! I need those to get to the finals! Gimme!" He said. Amy looked behind her at her friends and smiled.

"I won these fair and square," She said, fanning out the locators and Gorz. "Now, I suggest you find someone else to bother before you become one of the few people to ever get on my bad side," She added in a horrible attempt to sound menacing. The other Scouts and even Yugi had to fight down laughter, but it apparently worked on the opposing duelist before he narrowed his eyes and stormed off, taking his crew in tow.

"Oh no, I hope I never get on Amy's 'bad side'," Raye said, imitating Amy's attempt to sound threatening before breaking down in laughter. Yugi and Mina were laughing as well, though the both of them managed to keep their balance as opposed to the Flame Warrior, who was leaning on Mina for support.

Amy crossed her arms, then frowned and furrowed her brows. Something didn't feel right. She had cemented her place in the finals, but something was… off, now, it seemed. Something needed changed, and as she looked to her duel disk she had a good idea of what needed to be done.


	25. THE AUTHOR SPEAKS

I'd like to apologize for not updating sooner. I wrote a few chapters in quick succession and rewrote them several different times in several different ways until everyone was in character and I felt satisfied with the length of Serena and Beryl's duel.

I also would like to know in the reviews how I'm doing keeping the story interesting. I'm attempting to keep the audience guessing; in the anime, in all but one duel Yugi/Atem always found a way to win. You could count on him winning no matter what when losing would be dire. It was predictable and I honestly kind of hated pretty much knowing beforehand that he would win. I've tried to mix things up a bit; Serena losing when her friends' lives were on the line, Atem losing to Serena, etc. etc.. Am I keeping it spiced up? Am I keeping the people in character? Let me know.

I almost feel as though Amy's duel with Jack was generic and phoned in, but honestly I'm trying to portray her as uncharacteristically angered when she or her cards are snubbed or otherwise disrespected. I've tried to reserve Amy's best plays, her Synchro Ice Barriers, to represent that anger channeled into her strongest cards. The shortness and highly-aggressive playing on Amy's part was fueled by Jack and his crew's remarks.

Lastly, while on the subject of Synchro Monsters, it did come to my attention some time after I introduced the Stardust Dragon and Brionac that Synchro Monsters could not have been a part of the game at any time in Yugi or Jaden's lifespan. However, I do have an explanation, and it is as follows:

Paradox dueled Yusei in order to steal his Stardust Dragon and fought monster to monster to monster with Jaden for Neos. Paradox stole Kaiba's Blue-Eyes White Dragon in a duel, using Malefic Paradox Dragon in the process and thus introducing Kaiba to Synchro Summoning. After the events of Bonds Beyond Time, KaibaCorp began production of the Synchro Monsters, starting with Yugi's knowledge of Yusei's Stardust Dragon and what Kaiba remembered of Malefic Paradox Dragon.

Thank you for taking the time to read this note. I'm currently writing Chapter 25, which may or may not conclude the duel between Alexis and Serena.


End file.
